The Boy Next Door
by Black Ice and Blood Rain
Summary: I'm not a picky man. As long as she wasn't ugly or sick, I could have her on her back in five seconds flat. But "the wench"...she was both, not to mention irritating and brazen. It was easy to promise her mother I wouldn't take her. Now I wish I hadn't...
1. Test

_June 1_

_It's becoming increasingly annoying to write in this notebook, as blood splatters the pages. My brother gave it to me, a souvenir from his trip overseas. He tells me Italian food is best, but I don't see what that has to do with the blood._

_I haven't had a decent night's rest since I last ate, which was last week, due to the lack of food where we live, secluded from most of civilization. I hated what I had been forced to eat, because not only had it been disgusting, but disease-ridden as well. Why Sesshoumaru is allowed to travel all over the place, dining on gourmet food, while I'm stuck in this dinky cabin, forbidden to leave until he returns, I'll never know. I do know it's unfair, though. I've been starving for days now, and I honestly don't know how long I can wait._

_Could he be testing my willpower? I wonder. My onii-san knows all too well how I despise tests. They irritate me. My hand is shaking violently even as I write this, and my—_

A loud snap punctuated the young man's penning and he sighed in annoyance, grabbing another pencil from his drawer.

_The pencil broke in my hands._

_Sometimes I let my anger and hunger get the best of me. That might be why he's testing me like this. It also might be why I'm rambling like a fool, instead of ransacking the village like I've been thinking for the past six hours._

Inuyasha stopped to read back over his musings, but the blood randomly dancing across the papers of his journal was beginning to make him dizzy. With an anguished growl, he closed the book and dashed out of his room, heading straight for the front door that he knew was barred. His athletic figure clashed right into the seemingly flimsy door, rebounding into the wall behind him.

"FUCK!" He snarled, yanking on his long hair. It hadn't been his first attempt; in fact, he'd been trying to leave since his brother left. "I'm going to go fucking insane in here." He muttered anxiously, repeatedly ramming his fists into the walls, which never even gave under the intense pressure of his punches. Soon, he became bored and slumped against the wall, glaring menacingly at the door as if he could burn holes into it.

_What does he want me to do? Does he want me to die?_

Angrily, he ran his claws along the floorboards, taking immense satisfaction in how they curled up like wood shavings. "There's gotta be some way out of here. He wouldn't leave me in here without leaving some f—" A sudden scent abruptly stopped his ranting. He sniffed around, trying to decipher the smell, then his lips curled into a predatory grin as he realized just what it was.

"_Fresh meat_." Inuyasha licked his dry lips and pasted himself to the wall through which the scent flowed, practically burying his nose between the logs.

_Now, how do I get from here...to out there?_

He stared up at the ceiling and got an idea. Firmly planting his claws into the wall, he began crawling, until he was within reach of the ceiling, which he easily ripped up with his claws. He gave a triumphant smirk and leapt through the hole, landing safely on the wooden shingles. His dark golden eyes surveyed the woods, a light breeze ominously whipping his hair around his shoulders as he set his sights on the delectable treat walking in his forest. It was a female, his favorite kind, and she seemed scared.

_Lost, my little_ _bunny? Don't worry...I'll take you home._

Inuyasha sped through the trees like a bullet, his movements a blur, until he finally stopped behind the girl and tapped her on the shoulder. She gasped in fear, spinning around to face him.

"Hello." He greeted congenially. "I noticed that you seemed to be lost."

"Um...yes. Do you know the way back to the village?"

"I do, but I'm afraid it's far too dark to be able to tell. You should come with me back to my home."

"I...I'm not sure..."

"But my dear lady, I wouldn't be a gentleman if I left you alone out here to be devoured by a horde of wild animals." The girl's eyes widened and Inuyasha knew he had her.

"Well...okay." As he led her back to the cabin, he was busy mentally congratulating himself on his equanimity.

_Nii-san would be proud of me for keeping such control. What should I do with the morsel? Eat her raw? Or perhaps wait until her blood is hot and her hormones raging?_

He glanced over his shoulder at her, covertly admiring her shapely features. "What, by the way, is your name, beautiful woman?"

"Junshin." Inuyasha bit his lip to keep from squealing in glee.

_Purity..._

"Junshin." He repeated, a hungry purr in his tone. "Such a nice name."

"Thank you." She blushed, and Inuyasha came to the cabin door, smirking when it yielded to his force. Once Junshin was in the dark cabin, he closed and locked the door behind him, his fingers fidgeting in anticipation. He gently pushed the girl against the wall, sinking his slightly pointed nose in her neck and savoring the blood pulsing beneath her flesh. She gasped, startled when Inuyasha's knee pushed her legs apart.

"Tell me, Junshin...are you a virgin?" He breathed, asking what he already knew, but wanting to hear her sexy voice.

"Y-Yes..." The man smirked, exposing a sharp fang.

"Excellent." Inuyasha licked her neck all the way up to her ear, making her shudder. Feeling his pants tighten at the aroused noise, he lightly caressed both her protruding nipples through her thin blouse. "Have you ever been touched like this before?"

"No...never..." Inuyasha could barely stifle his jubilant laughter as he ran his claw down her skirt, making it pool around her ankles, and did the same with her undergarments.

"Do you know what I am?" His lips marked her chest as personal territory, while he worked on getting off his pants.

"The _kyuuketsuki_..."

"You are a smart girl." Inuyasha chuckled, relieved when his manhood was finally freed from its cloth prison. "Then you know what I'm going to do to you, right?" Junshin's lips moved, but Inuyasha's tongue on her bare breasts prevented coherence. He melded their bodies so close, his member moved a small distance into her entrance, and positioned his lips right at her ear. "I'm going to deflower you." Giving Junshin only a split second to let this sink in, he thrust into the tight virgin, snarling in pleasure at the feeling of one after so long. She cried out, her pain merely heightening Inuyasha's arousal. He blatantly ignored how her body language screamed at him to stop, and pumped faster into her, feeling her warm juices cover his cock like a blanket. Her pain slowly but surely morphed into pleasure, and before long, her legs were wrapped around Inuyasha's hips, Junshin's moans filling the tiny place. The noises began to get louder and louder, until Junshin screamed her climax, just as Inuyasha sank his fangs into her neck. The combination of her quivering walls tightly clenching his member and the sweet taste of her white-hot blood sent him spiraling into a powerful orgasm, accompanied by a declarative roar.

Inuyasha blew a sigh, attempting to catch his breath and lap up Junshin's rapidly gushing blood at the same time. With the loss of so much, Junshin's eyes had gone blank, giving Inuyasha the opportunity to drink as much as he pleased. Once he had gotten his fill, the deflowered young girl was no longer of use to him. He left her there on the floor and trudged into his bedroom, feeling full and satisfied. Before he drifted off to sleep, he grabbed his journal and wrote four simple words.

_I passed his test._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"We're leaving." Inuyasha yawned and shook his head, not sure he had heard his brother correctly.

"Excuse me, Sesshoumaru?" He mumbled, sitting up in his bed.

"You heard me. We're leaving, so come on."

"What, right now?"

"Yes, _right now_." The taller man huffed, leaving the room.

"Alright, alright." Inuyasha grunted, grabbing his journal and a pencil and following him out of the cabin.

_June 5_

_This time since Sesshoumaru's been gone has been hard, perhaps harder than the others, but it doesn't matter anymore, because he just woke me out of a sound sleep and told me we were leaving. I haven't left Akaigawa-mura_ _since I was reborn, but Sesshoumaru has. He says it is much better outside than here._

_I have no choice but to take his word for it._

"What are you _doing_?"

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha blinked, confused.

"With that book."

"I'm writing, what does it look like? Look, you may keep me locked up in that cabin and think I'm gonna become some savage beast if you want to, but I'd like to keep _some _civility, thanks."

"Are you suggesting that we as _kyuuketsuki _are thus uncivilized?"

"You _obviously _don't remember what happened when I was first reborn." He snorted, crossing his arms. "I was such a dumb brute, I ended up biting all my food wrong...blood gushing all over the place...it was horrible. My ass still aches from all those floggings you had to give me."

"Oh, yes. I had forgotten."

"And when you get hungry enough, you tend to devolve into that state. I almost did because _someone _kept me barred up in the fucking hut for so long!" Inuyasha grumbled.

"How many times have I told you I got _sidetracked_?" Sesshoumaru rolled his aureate eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. I still say you didn't give a damn. So where are we going?"

"Must you know?"

"Yeah, I must know!"

"A place called Muroran. It's much more modern than this village."

"Modern?"

"You see those clothes you're wearing? Outside this village, they would be considered hopelessly outdated, and you would most likely be mocked for wearing them." Inuyasha looked down at his clothing.

"I see nothing wrong with them."

"Because you're the one wearing them."

"I don't really understand."

"Just know that you're going to need new clothes when you leave here. This village is pathetically Amish, and our kind need to be enveloped within today's world if we ever want to survive."

"Right..." Inuyasha nodded, though he was still confused. "So tell me about the modern world. Is that why you leave for so long?"

"It is. There are several marvels there you won't find here, such as advanced schools in which both females and males attend."

"Oh?" This intrigued the young vampire. "I want to go to school." Sesshoumaru shook his head.

"I figured you would say that. _No_, you're not going to school."

_He has told me we're_ _going to Muroran, wherever that is, and it's supposed to be modern. I'm still not exactly sure what modern means, but from what he's telling me, it means people will mock my clothes. Besides the clothes, he also says that there are schools I can go to...with women in them_.

_I don't know what modern means...but I like it._

"Why not?" Inuyasha chuckled.

"I refuse you let you run amok in a public setting."

"_Amok_?! That's an insult, brother! I survived an entire week cooped up in that damned house without an ounce of food until four days ago! And besides, I promise I won't feed from the women!"

"I'm still not completely sure you're ready for school yet. We'll see when we get there."

_Sesshoumaru says he'll consider letting me go to school. That usually means yes, but I still had better be on my best behavior just in case._

"Okay." Inuyasha grinned, and Sesshoumaru shushed him as they came into the Akaigawa Village. The villagers eyed them suspiciously as they padded through in silence.

_We are now in the village. I wish I could have a last meal, because it is possible I will never return, and I do so hate a missed opportunity, let alone so many. My stomach is growling just thinking about it..._

Inuyasha tried his damnedest not to look at the luscious village girls and their deliciously fearful expressions, but his stomach and loins weren't listening to anything his mind was chanting. A sharp elbow in his gut shut both up.

"Stop it." His brother commanded under his breath. Inuyasha growled in annoyance, apparently louder than he thought, because a collective gasp rose throughout the villagers. He sighed, shaking his head.

Finally, they got out of the village, much to Inuyasha's relief. "I thought I'd die with all that temptation...c'mon, Sesshoumaru, we're never coming back anyway...what say we ransack tonight?"

"For Kami's sake, you fool, have some restraint and stop being such a glutton." He rebuked.

"But it's stupid to just leave like this without having a last meal!"

"It's called temperance, not stupidity. Must you feel the need to eat whenever the opportunity arises?"

"I like to take all I can get! Who the hell knows how long it'll be before I eat again? And besides, I'm a growing boy; I gotta have my nutrition."

"Is that right?" Sesshoumaru intoned. "Then how about this alternative: you stay here and feed, and whenever you're done, come find me."

"Wh—" Inuyasha gaped as his brother walked away, then he shrugged.

_He's given me permission to feed as I like, but he just walked away and told me to find him when I finish. Ah, well. More for me, I say._

He leapt up into a nearby tree and kept an eye on the village, anticipating nightfall.

_Let the feast begin._


	2. Wench

_June 7_

_**Having devoured the majority of the village—and even took pains to bottle up what I couldn't eat—, I long since went about my way to find my brother. It seemed that our kind were well-known, but humans outside Akaigawa seemed to think we were just "cosplaying freaks", as I heard one say. I had never been outside Akaigawa before, but a long ways away from the small village were much bigger things. Tall structures, paved roads—was this what my brother saw all the time?**_

**_He had been right about the clothes, at least. Many stopped and stared at my attire, which made me uncomfortable in the least, but then again, they may have been staring at the many silver flasks in my burlap_ _bag, or perhaps at me writing in this journal._ _I can never truly tell with humans._**

Inuyasha decided to go with what looked conventional and walked on the sidewalk with the other humans, looking around in awe. One man came alongside him, asking, "Dude, what's with the getup?"

"...Dude?" He blinked. "Getup?"

"Your clothes, man. You on your way to a comic book convention or something?"

"I come from Akaigawa-mura."

"_Oh_...that explains it. Yeah, that village is totally old-world. You need some real gear if you're gonna fit in around here."

"Well...thank you...?"

"Ah—Miroku." He grinned, holding out his hand for Inuyasha to shake, which he did. Both recoiled from each other a little quickly. "Damn, you're cold."

"I have hypothermia." Inuyasha explained quickly, using the excuse Sesshoumaru had taught him in case of such an event.

"Oh. That sucks."

"And actually, I'm looking for my older brother. He told me to come and find him once I was done eating."

"Yeah? Any idea where he might've headed?"

"Muroran is where he said he was going."

"Well, that's awesome!" Miroku laughed incredulously. "'Cause that's where I'm from! I'm going back this weekend. School's soon, you know."

"School?" Inuyasha's eyes glittered mischievously. "Where the females are?"

"Hehe, definitely." Miroku smirked, rubbing his palms together. "As gorgeous as they get, especially at the school I go to."

"I want to go to school." Inuyasha declared.

"Well, just hold on there, Jethro." Miroku chuckled. "We should get you some new clothes, and maybe some grub. You hungry?"

"I just ate." He snickered.

"Ah, still. C'mon, I'll show you where I'm staying first. You got any money?"

"My brother has it all."

"You can give me an IOU later." Miroku waved him off, and Inuyasha shrugged, trailing behind Miroku.

_**I just met a nice human boy named Miroku. He says he is from Muroran, and will be returning there this weekend, so I will soon find Sesshoumaru. Right now, however, he says he's going to b—**_

"Dude, what are you doing?" Miroku asked, peering over his shoulder at Inuyasha.

"I'm writing. I wish not to be a dunce like others, so I write to keep myself civilized." He explained.

"Right...man, you'll fit right in at school." The boy chuckled, and Inuyasha smirked.

"That's what I'm hoping for."

**—_uy me some better clothes, so I could blend in around here._ _He's also taking me to his home. I'm interested in how a_ _modern home looks, and seeing how the city looks, it makes me wonder why Akaigawa-mura is so primitive._**

**_Miroku told me that he also goes to school. I an anxious now more than ever to go, now that he's told me that the women there are gorgeous, and that I would fit in there._ _I absolutely can't wait!_**

"So what are you, about a nine in shirts?"

"..." Inuyasha blinked, confused.

"Oh, right." Miroku rolled his eyes, smacking himself in the forehead. "I forget you're totally living in the dark ages. Well, my cousin's apartment is just up ahead, and I assume you're my size, if not just a little bigger. You can stay there with her while I go clothes shopping."

"Her?" Inuyasha repeated, intrigued.

"Don't go putting any player moves on her, man." Miroku warned.

"I'll try, but I have what you would call a spot of _tenseinobi_—natural beauty. It might be hard to keep her away from me."

"Yeah, whatever." He snorted. "Do you think you could at least _try_? She doesn't feel well." Inuyasha grimaced.

_Sick women...disgusting. No, thank you._

"Sure, now that I know she's sick." They entered the building and Inuyasha marveled at the steel doors that separated when Miroku pushed a button.

"This, my nameless friend, is called an elevator. It gets you to different places within a large building, especially when you're feeling particularly lazy." He informed, as they stepped inside.

"Nameless? ...Oh! I've yet to tell you my name. Uh, my brother calls me Inuyasha, so that's what I guess it is. Sorry for my lack of manners." He apologized.

"No matter. You seem nicer than a lot of these idiots around here."

"All a part of the whole civility bit." Inuyasha grinned, and the elevator stopped on the third floor. Miroku led him to a door marked 317, and as they walked in, Inuyasha couldn't help but marvel the modernistic interior. "Wow..." He breathed, his slightly pointed ears perking at the sound of music.

"Aw, man...Kagome's got that depressing Amy Winehouse playing again."

"Don't taunt the sick, itoko." A raspy female voice called, and Inuyasha's eyes drifted to the pale and sickly girl leaning in the doorway.

"Damn it, Kagome, you shouldn't even be awake!" Miroku spluttered, dashing over to her and trying to escort her back into her bedroom, but she scrambled out of his grasp, sleepily glaring at him.

"I'm not an invalid, dum-dum." She yawned. "I woke up and everybody was gone, so I figured I'd fill the house with the sound of music." The girl looked at Inuyasha, who fixed her with a disinterested gaze. "Who's the new guy?"

"Oh, this is Inuyasha. He comes from the Akaigawa village, and he's coming back to Muroran with us." Miroku explained.

"..." Kagome's disbelieving stare alternated from her cousin to the pallid stranger. "Miroku, may I speak to you for one moment, please?"

"Well, actually, I—"

"_Now_, Miroku!" Kagome trilled hoarsely, dragging Miroku by his wrist into the back room. With a shrug, Inuyasha sat down on the couch, smiling at its comfortableness, and withdrew his journal from his burlap bag.

**_I'm now in Miroku's home. His cousin is very unattractive, and so sick, not even a newborn would drink from her. Her skin is as white as my own, and she's the most brazen_ _female I've ever had the displeasure of sighting. Then again, perhaps brazenness is now the custom with these females. I haven't been here long, so I wouldn't know. I suppose I'd have to ask Miroku._**

He paused, withdrew one of his many flasks, and took a swig from it, the taste warming his insides. Inuyasha took some time to listen to the music flowing throughout the apartment, and found he liked it, though he'd never really had a penchant for music before.

_**This music they have here is nice, though. The singer seems to be speaking a different language that I've only ever heard my brother use, and even that was limited.**_

His musings were interrupted by the noise coming from the back and he looked at the door.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He heard Kagome yelling. "Bringing a complete _stranger _in my Okaa-san's house! You don't know what he could be!" Inuyasha chuckled at this.

_**Though the girl is ugly, she's definitely not stupid. I have to wonder if she can sense what I am...no, of course not.**_

"Listen, I'm not _stupid_, Kagome!" Miroku retorted. "I wouldn't've brought the man in here if I thought he'd harm us!"

"It doesn't matter what you _think_, you doofus! What matters is how you brought a complete stranger in my mother's _house_!"

_**I don't know why they're so worried. As long as the girl remains ugly and sick, and my policy about only drinking from females withstands, they've got nothing to worry about. It's going to be tiring, but if I'm to find Sesshoumaru, it seems I'll have to gain their trust somehow.**_

"Well, hell, you know the number for 911! Now listen, I'm gonna be back, okay?"

"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME IN THIS—" Her words were punctuated by a sneeze and a sniffle. "...Excuse me. HOUSE BY MYSELF WITH THAT POTENTIAL MANIAC!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, more amused than offended.

**_The girl's obviously suspicious of me._ _It would be very amusing to see what would happen if I...humored her misgivings for a little while...no, no. Maybe later, but right now, I have to remain on my best behavior._**

"Just go to sleep, okay? You're sick. You don't even have to leave the room." Miroku sighed, opening the door and walking out of the room. Inuyasha smiled calmly.

"Hello again."

"Sorry about that, Inuyasha." Miroku scratched his head sheepishly. "My cousin's a total head case." Inuyasha only chuckled. "Well, I'll be back in a few hours. Do you think you could maybe stay out of her way and stuff? I mean, no offense or anything. You can make yourself at home, raid the fridge or whatever if you want."

"None taken." Inuyasha waved him off, and Miroku smiled gratefully before leaving the apartment. "It's not as if it would be a problem, anyway..." He murmured to himself, his eyes roving sideways at the cracked door from which Kagome peeked at him with her narrowed eyes. Inuyasha snickered and put away his journal, looking around casually, as if he didn't notice Kagome.

_How about a little game anyway? _He thought mischievously, getting off of the couch and heading into the kitchen, hearing the sound of hasty footsteps behind him. _So she's following me. What, does she think I'm a thief? _Inuyasha shrugged, curiously surveying the kitchen.

"So strange. Wench, what is this cold metal box here?" He asked, running his hand down the slightly grainy surface of the refrigerator and chuckling when he scented a mix of fear and indignation.

"What did you just call me?"

"I don't think I'll repeat myself." Now that she was caught, the sick girl had no choice but to come out of hiding and into the kitchen, standing akimbo.

"My name is Kagome, and it's a refrigerator. Duh much?"

"Interesting. What does it do?"

"What are you, some kind of trog?"

"...?"

"_Troglodyte?!_"

"Oh. No." Inuyasha scoffed. "So stop being such an annoying wench and tell me what this thing does."

"It cools food! And I'm not a freaking wench! SO STOP CALLING ME—" Kagome paused to have a coughing fit that ended up making her eyes water. "Excuse me." She sighed. "THAT!"

"Shouldn't you rest or something? You're gonna make yourself even sicker."

"Like you care." Kagome snorted. "You're probably just waiting for me to pass out, so you could kill me!" Inuyasha stared straight into her eyes, dim with sickness.

"Do you have a projectile lodged into your brain or something? Don't you think that, if I really wanted to kill you, I would've already done it by now?" He quirked his eyebrow.

"I don't care. Maybe you just get your sick kicks from...this kind of thing."

"Oh? What kind of "thing"?" Inuyasha drawled sarcastically.

"Just shut up and stop interrogating me!" Kagome snapped. Inuyasha shrugged and walked past her out of the room, back onto the couch. He took out his unfinished flask and drank from it, boredly watching Kagome glare at him from the kitchen threshold.

"Wench, do you have some kind of eye problem? Because you're really ticking me off now." He sighed in annoyance, finishing off his flask and stowing it back into the knapsack.

"I don't trust you, nor do I like you."

"Oh, that's good; I'm not the only one." Inuyasha said in mock relief, taking out his journal.

_**This girl and her annoying suspicions have flawed my best behavior into only moderate behavior. It's hard to gain their trust when this wench is so damned irritating. I have honestly never met someone so infuriating in my life! I never thought I could actually hate a woman, but this one is well on her way to my blacklist. I feel that even if she weren't so hideous, I still wouldn't l—**_

"What are you doing?" Kagome demanded, wobbling over and trying to peek in his journal. Scowling, Inuyasha shoved her face away.

"Do you think you could mind your own business, wench?" He huffed. "It's called a journal. Duh much?" Kagome sucked her teeth and stomped off into her room. Inuyasha glared after her and continued writing.

**—_ike her. That bitch just tried to read my_ _journal! I can't believe her nerve—_**

A loud snap sounded over the Amy Winehouse music and he sighed, running his hand down his face.

"Damn it...time to sacrifice my pride now." He mumbled sullenly, getting up from the couch. "Kagome, do you have a pencil?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: ...We neglected to mention that it was new. We hope people are reading this.

Blood Rain: Yeah, seriously...damn, I want some hot shrimp right now! (Licks lips hungrily)


	3. Nanako

_June 8_

_**It's a little past midnight, according to this "clock". Today's been absolutely hectic, but I think I've got down the basics after Miroku showed me around. The pencil incident turned into an absolute fiasco when the wench got all smug around loaning me a pencil. I even asked her nicely, but she wanted me to apologize for calling her wench so many times. In response, I very politely offered to instead "shove my cold foot up her ass and maybe push that long stick out through her mouth".**_

_**Needless to say, I ended up getting kicked out of her room.**_

_**So I had to wait. And wait. And wait some more, until Miroku returned with a bunch of bags of clothes for me. He got a bunch of sharp pencils for me, all of which I'm now storing safely in my knapsack so I won't have to suffer such a grievance again.**_

_**I've never wanted to hit a woman before.**_

_**Is it strange that I brought that up unprovoked? Maybe I was better off back in the village, where I'm used to living. I think this, then I remember how unfree I used to be, forced to reside in the forest because the villagers didn't trust me enough to let me stay with them in Akaigawa.**_

Inuyasha smirked to himself in the darkness of the living room where he laid.

_**Well, they're not saying much now, of course.**__**I absolutely wolfed those bastards down, even the men, but of course, I killed them first.**_

_**But more to the point. I tried on the clothing Miroku brought me, and most of them fit quite nicely. I even liked the way they looked. Right now, I'm wearing what he calls sleeping clothes, but I doubt I'll be sleeping tonight. I might look around some more.**_

_**The wench has a dog**__**here**__**that I recognize quite well as my old disciple, Shippou the**__**transmuting kyuuketsuki**_**. **_**He's the kind that can morph into basically any shape he likes, and he favors a kitsune, so generally, we call him a kitsuneban**_**. **_**A couple of years ago, he wandered out of the village and never returned. It seems he's found himself a home with Miroku and the wench. Unfortunately, when I caught the scant glimpse of him, he'd been sleeping, so we weren't able to communicate. Aside from that, he stays in the wench's room, but I'll be damned before I go in there. I can barely stand the stench of malady that wafts in here.**_

As if to accentuate his point as he wrote this, Inuyasha grimaced, lightly sniffing the air with a shudder.

_**Anyway, I met the wench's mother, and I couldn't believe my sight. She was my type! I mean, literally! Of course, this only lets me know that the wench is adopted or something. How did I know that Nanako—that's her mother's name, of course—was a vampire? Simple. Any subtemperate paleface that beautiful has got to be one.**__**Simple.**__**When I shook her head in greeting, there arose a twinkle in her eyes that told me she was one of us.**_

Inuyasha bit his bottom lip, wondering what Nanako's sexual preferences were and groaning as his boxer shorts tightened uncomfortably.

_**She's very sexy, and only three times before have I fucked another vampire...of course, there's no food to be had, but the episode is still exceptionally enjoyable.**_

"You know, that's really disturbing my sleep, these mixed emotions you're giving off." Inuyasha looked up, and right into a pair of milky breasts. With a lascivious chuckle, he turned to face Nanako's smirking features, all the while admiring her curvaceous figure, adorning only a lacy salmon-colored bra and panty set and a silky mid-calf housecoat.

"That's a very flattering outfit you have on." He licked his lips. "Mind if I rip it to shreds?"

"Actually, I do, considering my daughter and nephew are barely five feet away."

"Just try not to scream too loudly and things will go fine."

"Charming, aren't you? If I were human, I might be insulted."

"But you're not and I knew it, or I wouldn't've accosted you."

"Mm." She sat on the arm of the couch, crossing her legs. "How old are you, Inuyasha?"

"Old enough for you." He lightly caressed her leg, reveling in the cool softness of her flesh. She smacked him in his head, making his eye twitch in annoyance. "...That hurt."

"The correct answer was somewhere around eighteen, am I right?"

"If you mean in years of basic existence, I'm twenty. If you mean in years of current life, I'd say about five." Inuyasha grumbled, still reeling a little from that strike.

"Just old enough for my daughter."

"Your _whom_?" He scoffed incredulously. "I refuse to court that afflicted wench!"

"I know Kagome can be difficult sometimes, but really, it's just the flu."

"That's disgusting. And besides, I only use human girls as playtoys anyway. I'd much sooner and rather do you, though." Inuyasha moved his hand near her breasts, but she smacked him again. "Oh, damn it! Why the hell not?!"

"Sorry, but I'm too accustomed to human ways by now. I can't help but consider you a child." Inuyasha scowled, pulling down his boxers and exposing his impressive erection.

"Does this look like the appendage of a fucking child?" Nanako glanced at it and laughed, making it deflate like a popped balloon. Inuyasha's shoulders sagged and he readjusted his boxers, turning his head in shame. "You didn't have to laugh, you know..."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I was just laughing at your determination. You're going to need it if you want to survive amongst humans."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"You saw for yourself; humans are all too trying. It's sometimes almost as if they want you to kill them, you know?"

"All too well. I've never hit a girl before, but your daughter is really trying me." Inuyasha admitted.

"All I ask is that you refrain from hurting her, physically or otherwise."

"Physical pain is the only pain I know."

_Which is a lie._

"And besides, what's in it for me if I adhere to your wishes?"

"What if I told you I knew exactly where your brother was?" Inuyasha's eyes widened and he stared at her.

"Where?!"

"Promise me you'll be nice to Kagome."

"I promise nothing!" He refused.

"Okay, well, promise you won't try to feed from her."

"That's an easier promise to make." Inuyasha snorted. "I hate to break it to you, but your daughter is _no _mantrap." Nanako smiled.

"That's because she's sick, sweetheart."

"Even if she wasn't sick, I wouldn't be able to stand her."

"Then say it." With an annoyed roll of his eyes, Inuyasha said, "I promise I won't feed from your hideous daughter."

"Inuyasha." Nanako deadpanned.

"All right, all right! I swear not to feed from_ Kagome_." He mocked. "Jeez."

"Now remember this promise, because the moment you break it, I'm slitting your neck." She warned sweetly.

"Please." Inuyasha groaned, taking a swig of blood from a flask. Nanako sniffed, licking her lips.

"Give me some of that."

"Give me some of you and you can have anything you want." In one swift motion, Inuyasha had Nanako pinned to the couch, straddling her with a hungry look in his eye. She yawned, her hand thrust out and grasped his neck, effectively cutting off his oxygen, then threw him into the front door as if he were nothing more than a bag of flour. Inuyasha groaned, rubbing his head.

"What was that you were saying, Inuyasha?" Nanako beamed, taking one of his flasks from his knapsack, along with his journal. "Ooh, what's this, then?"

"Don't...touch that. It's personal." Inuyasha mumbled, trying to right his vision.

"And I'm listening to you...not." Nanako whistled, opening the book up. "June first! It's becoming increasingly—" She was vaguely startled when the book was snatched right out of her hands by a lightheaded Inuyasha, who glared at her.

"I _said_..._don't touch the book_." He stuffed it back into his bag. Nanako merely shrugged, drinking from the flask. "And don't be drinking up all my fucking rations!"

"Don't get _testy _just because I'm not some wanton human that won't have sex with you."

"I don't hold grudges against your kind of girl." Inuyasha huffed. "I just feel sorry for you. Now tell me where my brother is!"

"Fine, fine. Sesshoumaru's at the Dai-ichi Hotel."

"_Thank you_." Inuyasha drawled, rolling his eyes. "How do you know my brother, anyway?"

"We go back a while." Nanako shrugged, downplaying.

"You mean he fucked you." He deciphered, quirking an amused eyebrow.

"Something like that."

"Is that the real reason you don't want me?"

"...Sure, why not." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could protest, Kagome's room door creaked open. Both Nanako and Inuyasha stared at the girl as she slowly walked out and into the kitchen.

"...What's with the wench?" Inuyasha murmured.

"There's no use in whispering. When Kagome sleepwalks, she's dead to the world." Nanako waved him off, watching as her daughter exited the kitchen with a bowl of ice cream in hand. She sighed, getting up and taking it from her. "No ice cream for you, sickie." She scolded lightly, putting her arm around Kagome's shoulders and leading her back into the kitchen. Inuyasha followed with his journal, out of sheer curiosity, and sat down at the table, starting to write as Nanako took out a pot, some milk, and chocolate syrup.

"How about some hot chocolate instead?" Unconsciously, Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha shook his head in confusion.

_**And thus, the sexy vampire inexplicably**__**rejects my advances. Oh, well; at least it's been confirmed that she actually is a vampire. I would've hated to have been putting the moves on a human mother.**_

He paused in his writing to shudder, earning a strange look from Nanako.

_**Nanako has revealed that not only does she know Sesshoumaru, but she also knows where he is—at some hotel in Muroran.**__**Apparently, he too shared my attraction to her, for they've fucked in the past, which explains how she knows him.**_

_**I wasn't even able to get that information without promising her I wouldn't drink the wench's blood. Yeah, right! I can barely stand to be in the same room, let alone something as intimate as feeding from her! What's even worse is that Nanako wants me to court that sickly wench!**__**She must've been around these humans too long, because it's affecting her brain or something. **_

_**But something's strange about that wench. Nanako told me that if I broke my promise to her, she'd slit my throat. That's a**__**pretty nasty threat to make, considering how revolting the girl is. In fact, I'm remembering how Miroku warned me against flirting with her, as if it happened often. I don't know; I guess humans just have a more...distorted perception of beauty.**_

_**Or maybe they're devoid of sight.**_

Inuyasha chuckled at what he wrote, which got Nanako's attention. "What are you writing over there that's so funny?" She asked a little suspiciously.

"Nothing concerning you." Inuyasha remarked simply, slamming his journal closed. The loud noise snapped Kagome out of her sleepwalking daze and she shook her head, looking around.

"Hi, Kagome." Nanako waved with a smile. "Had fun?"

"...Was I sleepwalking again?" Kagome yawned, scratching her unruly hair.

"'Fraid so, sweetie."

"Oh. Is that _thing _still here?" She scoffed bitterly, cutting her eyes at Inuyasha, who ignored her.

"Yes, _Inuyasha's _still here." Nanako chuckled. "Want some hot chocolate?"

"Yeah."

_**Obviously**__**, the sallow wench shares my dislike.**_

"What's hot chocolate?" Inuyasha grunted, putting down his pencil.

"Only the best use of chocolate since they got the idea to melt it into fudge." Nanako smirked. "Want some?"

"I don't think so. I couldn't stomach something that the wench is drinking at the same time." Kagome scoffed in outrage, flipping him the bird while the milk heated.

"Hey, hey, watch it." Nanako admonished.

"What the fuck is _that _supposed to mean?" Inuyasha's twisted every which-way, trying to copy the gesture.

"It means something that neither of you should be saying." Nanako smacked his distorted hand, snapping it back to normal.

"Thanks..." He mumbled, rubbing his sore hand. "Aw, damn it, now I can't write."

"Just what the hell do you write in that thing anyway?" Kagome demanded.

"Don't worry about it! Nosy-ass bitch! You're worse than your mother!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Mommy? You tried to sneak a peek, too?"

"I got as far as about three words until he snatched it right out of my hands." Nanako chuckled.

"Ugh! Rude much?! I wouldn't let him treat me like that if _I _were you, Mom." Kagome sniffed.

"Oh?" Inuyasha slid his journal across the table and locked his fingers together. Kagome looked at him weirdly. "Go ahead, read it." He nodded. Not taking her eyes off of him, she slowly reached for the book. As soon as she opened it to read, Inuyasha snatched it from her, sticking out his tongue in an immature raspberry. Kagome shook her head, mumbling under her breath, "Such a child..." before blowing on her mug of hot chocolate.

"Thank you." Inuyasha smirked. "Older than you, baby."

"So, Inuyasha...are you going to school with Kagome and Miroku this fall?"

"Fall?"

"That's when school starts, yes."

"Sure, if my brother lets me. And as long as I don't have to see the bride of Frankenstein over there, it's all good." Kagome clenched her fists in anger, but said nothing. Nanako whapped him in the ear with a wooden spoon, provoking a hiss from him.

"I do wish you would stop insulting my sick daughter and advancing her ailment." She reproved cheerfully.

"Yeah, whatever..." Inuyasha mumbled, swearing under his breath.

"None of that, please!" Another crack sounded in the air.

"I HATE YOU!"


	4. School

_June 9_

_We made it to Muroran, though the complete hell I endured being in a "car" with the wench for over five hours might not have been worth it. As soon as it began, I started thinking that I could've run to Muroran on my own with some simple directions, and not only would it have taken a shorter amount of time, but I wouldn't've had to put up with the wench and her annoyingness._

_I should probably say that her whole sick period was going to get on my nerves from the get-go. As soon as we all got in the car and drove off, she went to sleep. I don't know how the hell she sleeps when she's healthy, but she sounds like an absolute __**beast **__when she's sick. She has the flu, so her nose is clogged or some crap, which causes her exhalations to become garbled and stuttering_.

_In other words, the bitch snores._

_I was sitting in the front seat and she in the back so she could have room to stretch out. Well, she did, and made her little sickly ass __**real **__comfortable, so damn comfortable, she started fucking snoring! She did it for two entire hours! I wanted to reach back there and hit her!_

_Finally, Miroku hit a bump in the road, which jarred her out of her "sound" sleep, but she made one of those irritating snorts weird people make when they're about to wake up._

"About time." Inuyasha groaned, shaking his head. "Sounded like somebody was gutting a fucking hog back there." Miroku choked trying to hold back his laughter, and Kagome emphatically coughed in Inuyasha's hair. He pursed his lips.

_It's not like I could catch a human disease or anything, but when that wench coughed all over my hair, it was really, really fucking annoying. I wanted to hit her more than ever then, but I make it a habit not to hit women._

"Well...you were snoring kinda badly back there, Kagome." Miroku snickered.

"You shut up!" Kagome screeched. "You're not supposed to taunt the goddamn sick, you idiot! And you, you palefaced moron, why don't you get off my case?!"

"Bitch, don't tell me what to do!" Inuyasha yelled back.

_Did I mention it was getting harder and harder not to hurt this girl?_

"Why don't you crawl back into the primitive cave you were spawned from, dirt sucker?!"

"_What?! _I dare you to say that again, you fucking leper!"

"Inuyasha! Kagome!" Miroku interrupted, before the argument could escalate any further. "People are trying to drive here! Both of you, shut your holes or I'll do it for you!" Though he knew Miroku couldn't do anything to him, Inuyasha shut up anyway out of respect and harrumphed quietly, crossing his arms.

_It's not that I was scared of Miroku. I respected him for taking me in when he barely knew me, and even letting me tag along with him._

_But scared?_

_Never._

_I fear no one but my brother, and that's only because he's the only one who can beat me._

"Thank you." Miroku sighed.

_It was then that I noticed something._

"Say, where's that dog?" Inuyasha asked suddenly, looking around.

"Kogane's whereabouts are none of your business." Kagome said sullenly.

"Ko—_who_?!"

_SHE NAMED HIM KOGANE?! THAT IS A GIRL'S NAME! __**A **__**GIRL'S **__**NAME!!**_

"His name is Kogane."

"I happen to have seen that dog before, and I also happen to know that his name is _Shippou_." Inuyasha corrected with mock politeness.

"He is _my _dog, and his name is Kogane." Kagome growled.

"Kogane is a fucking girl's name! And you're avoiding the damn question! Where is he?!"

"Why do you care?!"

"Don't worry about why I care!" Inuyasha snapped. "Just tell me where the damn dog is before I get pissed!"

"I don't care, get pissed if you want! It's not like you can do anything to me!"

"Ooh...! I am just so tempted to show you how wrong you are..." He grumbled, his claws flexing.

"Okay, people, let's calm down here. Why do you two like looking for fights with each other?"

"It's _fun_." The two drawled simultaneously, then glared at each other.

_I'd just like to forget the whole car incident, okay? It makes me hate the girl so much, and the hate's just not necessary at the moment. I asked Miroku to drop me off at the Dai-ichi Hotel, and luckily, he agreed._

"Thanks for the ride." Inuyasha thanked his new friend, as he got out of the car.

"No problem." Miroku smiled.

"_Get out!_" Kagome fake-coughed, but Inuyasha didn't even dignify her with a response. He merely waved goodbye to Miroku as he skidded off, and strutted jauntily into the hotel.

_It was, admittedly, a very fancy place, this hotel_. _It __**would **__be the type of place my brother would stay._

"Excuse me, but could you take time from your schedule of being so pretty, to tell me what room a man named Sesshoumaru is residing in?" Inuyasha licked his lips debonairly at the cute clerk behind the front desk. She blushed, giggling prettily, and said, "Thank you! Um, he's in room 506." He leaned in close to her ear, nipping at the lobe.

"No...thank _you_." He murmured. "Say, how do you get off?"

"Um...don't you mean _when_?" She stammered, her knees weakening with each word he said.

"That, too." Inuyasha chuckled lustfully, and straightened up upon hearing distant footsteps. "I'll see _you _later." He wiggled his tongue suggestively at her, fighting the urge to laugh at her quickening heart rate, and headed into the elevator. As if the clerk wasn't tempting enough, a woman in a very short, very revealing dress rushed over to the elevator as soon as the doors were about to close. Inuyasha held them open for her and she sighed in relief, slumping against the corner of the elevator.

"Oh, thank you so much!" She panted, clutching her heaving chest. Inuyasha stared at the woman's breasts, actually mesmerized.

"No...thank you." He repeated, then laughed at himself for saying the same thing twice in two minutes. She looked at him with a blush.

"Um, five, please." Inuyasha blinked.

_Five what?_

"...Five?"

"Yes. The fifth floor. That's where I need to go."

"..." There was a still silence in the elevator for a few moments.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not exactly used to elevators." He confessed, feeling shamefaced. "I have to go to room 506, but I don't know how."

"Oh, well, here—I'll do it for you." She smiled, leaning over in front of him and pressing the five button. Her face flared up upon feeling his arousal brush against her body. "Umm..." Inuyasha looked at the buttons beside the elevator door and found the emergency stop button just before they reached the fifth floor, then grabbed the woman's wrist, yanking her flush against his body.

"Tell me now and I want the truth. Do you want me?" He mumbled, playing with her nipples through her dress. She gasped, trying to cross her legs, but Inuyasha forced them apart again with a clawed hand.

"I—I'm on my way to see my husband..." She whispered, as if fearing Inuyasha's reaction. He just chuckled, licking the side of her neck.

"That's not what I asked you." His tongue dawdled erotically into her ear and he took immense satisfaction in hearing her helpless whimpering. "Do...you...want me?"

"...Y-Yes..." The woman stammered.

"Good." Inuyasha licked his lips hungrily and licked her neck again, feeling the blood in her neck racing. It was nearly enough to bring out his feral side, but he restrained himself, simply hiking up her tight dress and working on his jeans. "Now tell me one thing, before I rock your world, better than your husband _ever _could."

"Okay..." She nodded quickly, her horniness getting the best of her. Inuyasha smirked at her desperation.

_I can't believe Nanako_ _was right...human women __**are **__whores._

"What's your name?"

"Hikari."

"That's all I need to know." In a heartbeat, Hikari was full up to her stomach with Inuyasha. She groaned, beads of sweat already beginning to form on her flesh. Inuyasha grunted with each thrust of his manhood, thirstily eyeing her neck, and as her cries of pleasure escalated, so did his ardent hunger. His soulless golden eyes glowed ferally and he growled, sinking his fangs deep into her neck. Hikari shuddered, feeling a bout of paralysis snake down her entire body, then suddenly disappear. Inuyasha, oblivious to her pain, went about grinding their hips together, drinking greedily from her bloodstream as if it were water.

"I...I feel woozy..." Hikari murmured, her body going limp, but her consciousness, though flimsy, remaining intact.

"Ignore it." Inuyasha growled shortly, sucking from the open bite mark on her skin. As it so often did, her hot blood only increased his libido, and suddenly, Hikari vibrated wildly in his arms, gasping convulsively. Her warm, moist walls tightened around Inuyasha's cock, provoking him to pull her tighter to his body, push faster, and feed deeper. It didn't take long for him to fill her with his supernatural seed, snarling like a wild animal as he came.

Inuyasha quickly composed himself, wiping the sheen from his forehead and relinquishing his grasp on her with a satisfied sigh. He blinked when her body, unaided, fell to the elevator floor with a loud thump.

"Uh-oh." He mumbled, rubbing the nape of his neck, then pulled his pants back up, casually pressing the five button again. Inuyasha got off on the floor with no trouble, heading for his brother's room. He knocked loudly and waited, raking a hand through his hair.

_I might have to take a rain check with that hot clerk._ He thought idly. _Kinda full now. Don't wanna cloy my appetite..._

The door swung open and Inuyasha strolled in, waving at his brother sitting on the floor with a glass of dark red liquid in hand.

"About time you found me." He murmured, taking a swig of his drink.

"Yeah, yeah. What's that stuff?"

"Wine. Haven't you ever heard of it?"

"Of course I've _heard _of it. The television was talking about it one time before. I just didn't know what it was upon sight." Inuyasha huffed.

"Whatever you say." Sesshoumaru chuckled.

"So what's the deal? I know we're not staying in a hotel." He sat down opposite his brother, clawing lazily at the carpet fibers beneath him.

"Of course not. There's an apartment complex near the school you will be attending." Inuyasha grinned happily at this.

"_School..._"

"Ohtani High, to be exact, and there are a few rules we need to go over before you go to the apartment." Sesshoumaru dangled a key in front of his younger brother's face.

"I'm staying there myself?"

"You can handle that, can't you? It's already furnished—lavishly, may I add—, and I'll give you money each month through the mail to survive."

"I guess." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Good. Rule one: absolutely no feeding from these high school women." The boy sighed, annoyed, and patted his knapsack, only slightly less full than when he'd first loaded it four days ago.

"I figured you'd say something like that, which is why I have this."

"Whatever. If you do find yourself craving, just eat some meat."

"Raw or cooked?"

"Do I look like I care?"

"Point taken." Inuyasha snorted. "Can I still fuck the women?"

"To your heart's desire."

"That's really all I was looking for."

"Rule two: obey your teachers, no matter what they say."

"Can you change that to something a little more..._me_-oriented?"

"Fine...do what they say as long as it's logical."

"Thank you."

"And rule three...try to be good, okay?"

"Okay." Inuyasha snickered. "How hard can it be?"

"School starts on September the eighth. Can you remember that?"

"Hold on." He whipped out his journal and a sharp pencil and began to write furiously.

_After feeding from a very delectable morsel in the elevator, I come to my brother's room, where he says he is not only allowing me my own place to stay, but he's letting me go to school as well! Of course, I'm overjoyed, but he's got a few rules. It doesn't matter; they shouldn't be too hard to follow._

_School is supposed to start September the eighth...when is September again?_

"Wait, when is that?" Inuyasha blinked.

"The ninth month."

"Oh, right, right." He grinned.

_Sorry. The ninth month, eighth day. I can handle that!_

"You go there from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon."

"...Right. We're gonna need to study this whole _time _concept if I'm ever gonna get this right."


	5. Sick

_June 11_

_I stayed with Sesshoumaru for the rest of the weekend, studying time and other such concepts I would need to know if I were to survive. Luckily, I'm a quick learner, so things went_ _pretty smoothly._

_That is, until I got to the apartment complex._

_I was on the fourth floor, heading for room 418, when who should come out of room 416, coughing up a storm, but—_

"YOU!" Inuyasha spluttered, and Kagome looked at him, glaring weakly.

"What are you, following me or something?" She mumbled.

"I was just about to ask the same damn thing." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?!"

"I _live _here, stupid. Whereas _you _are nothing but a weird-ass stalker." The still-sick girl shuffled into the elevator. Inuyasha scoffed, opening the door to his apartment. Sesshoumaru had it decorated even fancier than Nanako's, with plush red carpet, a plasma screen television on the wall, a well-stocked kitchen—complete with cookbook on the Italian marble counter—, and several other self-indulgent household accesories.

"Awesome." Inuyasha smiled calmly, going into the kitchen and stuffing the rest of his flasks in the overloaded refrigerator. "Damn, that guy pulled out all the stops, didn't he?" Going into his bedroom, he saw a safe right beside his king-sized bed, the combination written on a small piece of paper on top of it. "Obviously for the money." He reasoned, opening the safe and gaping upon seeing at least five thousand dollars already inside. "Where does he _get _this stuff?!" Shaking his head, he packed his measly five hundred in there as well, and plopped on the bed, taking out his journal.

_Really, it's strange as hell that he would have it look so rich in this apartment, when he knows I was used to staying in a cabin where the only furniture was a hard bed. Ah, well; I'm not complaining. After staying for that time in Nanako's house, I'm becoming more and more accustomed to this kind of life._

_Of course, there is the not-so-minor setback of the wench living right next door to me! It's absolutely unbelievable! How the hell can I stomach that shit?!_

_Oh, well. All I have to do is not leave the apartment. Shouldn't be that difficult._

He smiled at this thought, nodding his head. "Yeah. I won't have to see that ugly bitch as long as I stay cooped in here." Inuyasha put down the journal and went around exploring some more, even happier when he discovered the extra bedroom stacked with a bunch of books.

_I never thought I'd say this, but I love my brother. I really do. No way I'm gonna be some uncivilized troglodyte with all these books in here!_

He picked up one of the books, titled Encyclopedia: A, Volume One. "Wonder what this is." Skipping into the living room, he sat down on the couch and began to read. Inuyasha read and read and read, until about seven hours later, when he was halfway through the fourth volume, there came a knock at his door. He yawned and went over to answer it.

"Yeah?"

"DUDE!" Miroku cackled.

"Oh, hey, Miroku."

"You look trashed as hell! I didn't know this would be where you were staying!" He gaped as he looked inside the house. "_Damn! _It looks awesome in here!"

"Yeah, I know." Inuyasha chuckled.

"Where's your brother? And may I come in?"

"Sure, and I don't know."

"Awesome." Miroku grinned eagerly, as Inuyasha let him in the apartment. "Dude, this place is freaking crazy cool. What are you doing in here?"

"Just reading." Miroku stared incredulously at him.

"_Reading? _You have a 32-inch plasma screen sitting in your wall and you're _reading_?!"

"What are you, a broken record?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I'm just reading this encyclopedia and—"

"YOU'RE WHAT?! Dude, it's summer! We don't have to learn anything for three more months!"

"Uh..."

"Okay, look. Kagome, who, by the way, is still sick, snuck out to her hot friend's house, so I had to go over there and collect her before she _died_. She went to sleep and woke up just five minutes ago, ranting and stuff about "that retarded albino living in my damn complex", so who else could it have been but you?! And right next door, no less! So, this is the perfect opportunity to get you better adjusted to normal people life."

"You seriously think I can be normal living on my own in this place?"

"You live—aw, man! Some guys get all the luck..." Miroku grumbled. "Me and Kagome live with her father, my uncle, and his girlfriend. We're not _extremely _fond of her, but I guess that's always the case with stepparents. _ANYWAY! _Grab a pair of trunks and let's _goo_."

"Um...where are we going?" Inuyasha blinked.

"To a pool party at a very good friend of mine's house."

"Pool party, huh?"

"Just come on. You can swim, right?"

"Of course. But I don't know if I have any trunks."

"I got you some!" Miroku dangled a pair of swimming trunks in his face with a grin.

"Where are _yours_?"

"'Neath these." He pulled on the elastic of his short pants, letting them snap against his waistline. "You've got shorts and a t-shirt, don't you?"

"Hold on." Inuyasha dashed into his room and returned dressed in a polyester tee, a pair of red athletic shorts, and some Nike sneakers. "How's this look?"

"Perfect." Miroku grinned. "The ladies will love you."

"Ladies?" Inuyasha licked his lips excitedly. "There will be girls there?"

"What kind of party has no females, dude? That's why I invited you along, 'cause you're just like me—a ladies' man. Hell, this should be funner than reading some old book, right?"

"Guess so."

_I wonder if I should bring the journal along, too. Nah, I'll write later._

"Your ugly cousin isn't coming, is she?"

"Dude! Kagome's not _ugly_. She's just really sick, that's all. And no, she's not coming. This flu thing is gonna have her out for at least another few days."

"Excellent. Let's go!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_June_ _12_

_..._

_..._

_I am such a glutton._

_I thought my brother was just being an asshole when he always told me this, but now I see it for the truth it is._

_I stumbled in here about an hour ago, drunken out of my mind, not from straight alcohol, but from alcohol-laced blood. I had to have fed from every single woman __**out **__there!_

_Strangely enough, blood with high alcoholic content seems to have no damning effect on my writing skills, because I'm writing and thinking just as perfectly as if I were sober. It's just that I'm having a slight battle with balance, that's all._

_And my sight's just a __**teensy **__bit blurred._

_And I'm just a little bit—_

The journal and pencil fell to the floor with a hollow thud and a tap. The hard thump of Inuyasha's body crashing down followed very soon after, his cold body having completely shut down as if he were a robot.

Some hours later, about at the crack of dawn, Inuyasha's eyes snapped open, and the first thing he saw were boots. He blinked in confusion, grunting when he was picked up by the back of his shirt and made to face the unamused and unsmiling face of his older brother.

"Is there some kind of problem?" He cleared his throat, crossing his arms in annoyance at being handled like a disobedient puppy.

"What did I tell you not to do?"

"..." Inuyasha thought for a moment, then winced as the realization was stricken into him by Sesshoumaru's powerful hand. "Oh, yeah..."

"You reek of alcohol and blood. You stupid bastard, you just refuse to listen, don't you?"

"Hey, I honestly don't see the problem here." Inuyasha growled. "It's not like I killed them or nothin'! Besides, they were so drunk, they thought I was giving them hickeys!"

"Then not only did you disobey me, but take advantage of drunken women as well. That settles it."

"Settles what?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

"From here on in, you are not to feed from a single human woman for the rest of your summer."

"WHAT?! That's bullshit!" Now he began to squirm in Sesshoumaru's grasp, not wanting to hear any more.

"It's probation and I dare you to violate it." The threat in his eyes made Inuyasha stop struggling, albeit sullenly. Sesshoumaru let his words sink in a few more seconds, before relinquishing his grip completely. Inuyasha dropped back onto the floor like a brick and shook his head to clear away any signs of oncoming dizziness.

"Is _that _all you came to tell me?" He grumbled.

"No. I just had a meeting with the elders, who informed me that, as your superordinate, I am to ensure you find yourself a proper _nyoubou_." Even as he said these words, Inuyasha practically tuned him out with a loud, complaintive groan.

"No, no, damn, crap, _noooo_!" He yelled, getting up from the floor and glaring at Sesshoumaru, who remained, as per usual, impassive. "_Why?!_"

"Don't be stupid. You're coming up on your twenty-first summer and you need a partner."

"No, I fucking don't." Inuyasha protested evenly. "I'm perfectly fine with the wanton life of promiscuity I live now, thanks. So you can just escort yourself on out, mister."

"I'm only going to tell you this once, Inuyasha, so use those godforsaken satellite antennae of yours and listen well." To emphasize his point, Sesshoumaru yanked on Inuyasha's sensitive ears and hissed, "You've got until December sixteenth to find a nyoubou or so help me, you're going to be a eunuch by this time next year." Inuyasha stiffened, his body temperature dropping a few degrees at these chilling words.

"Okay, okay..." He mumbled under his breath, and Sesshoumaru let go of his ears. "Any specific preferences, _Dad_?"

"Yes, in fact, there are, and I don't think I can stress this one enough. You better not take a woman just because of the way she looks. Look for someone with a respectable lineage, and maybe more than three brain cells to her name."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it..."

"And I have to meet and approve of her before you even think about having your idiotic way with her."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, you impatient cur, that's all." There came a knock at the door.

"Planning on leaving or what?" Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow, going over to answer it. Sesshoumaru merely harrumphed under his breath, strolling past Miroku at the door without so much as a hello. Miroku blinked.

"Uh...that your brother?"

"Sure, why not." Inuyasha yawned. "So whatcha here for?"

"Oh, I can't stay. Kagome has to go to the hospital and I've got an extremely important test to take."

"Huh. Well, I wish you luck on your test." Inuyasha grinned widely, and was about to close the door, but Miroku held it ajar with his foot, giving his friend a pleading look.

"Oh, come on, Inuyasha, it's not that far away!"

"Hell no." He refused simply. "I will _not _help that wench recover. In fact, I honestly hope she shrivels up and dies." Miroku stared in awe at Inuyasha.

"DUDE! It's my freaking cousin, man!"

"You need to understand, Miroku, that I'm devoid of normal human emotion."

"Please, please, _please_, Inuyasha? I swear, if you do this, you'll never have to see Kagome again."

"I don't believe you."

"Believe it; after she comes from the hospital, her father is supposed to be taking her to stay with her mother." Inuyasha thought for a moment.

_Hmm. What to do, what to do? I could take the wench to the hospital and gain favor with her delicious mother...and on the plus side, I'll never have to see her again...but I don't know if I can endure her presence for so long._

"I'll forever be in your debt if you do this one thing for me, Inuyasha!"

"Hmm. Why can't her father take her?"

"He's working!" Miroku wailed. "And the longer we delay, the longer Kagome's life slips away!"

_Hmm. I don't think Nanako would like me much if I let her bitch daughter die... _He sighed mentally. _Damn me and my stupid compassion._

"Fine, fine...where is the stupid invalid, anyway?" Inuyasha said boredly, and just as he said this, an even paler, sicker Kagome was thrust into his arms, making him want to vomit.

_Fucking—I didn't think it was possible, but she's more undesirable now than she ever was!_

An unrelenting grimace on his face, he tentatively straightened her and tried to push her away from him as gently as he could, but she ended up wavering and nearly hitting the floor—that is, before Inuyasha pinched the scruff of her shirt with his claws, not wanting to touch her at all.

"Thanks, dude, you're a lifesaver!" And just like that, Miroku was gone. Inuyasha glared at Kagome.

"You're an ugly sick wench, you know that?" She didn't reply, so ridden with illness was she. "Ugh..." Inuyasha shuddered in squeamish repugnance as he picked her up bridal-style and left the apartment, knowing he would have to douse himself in scalding hot water and lye soap for hours on end.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: Wow. Inuyasha's hate of Kagome is just plain-ass boundless.

Blood Rain: I honestly can't wait until they get to school.

Black Ice: Which shall be next chapter, peoples!

Blood Rain: For real?! Awesomeness!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Today's Rant: That stupid McDonald's commercial about the dollar Quarter Pounder!

Black Ice: Remember that stupid McDonald's commercial about...well, I don't want to repeat it. And these two guys were at work, all, "These shoes cost twenty dollars" and "This tie cost twelve dollars". Okay. That's not what annoyed the shit out of me. What did, however, is that bitch's abrupt interruption, talking about "Quarter Pounder, only one dollar."

...

Uh, could somebody let me know just who the hell was talking to her nosy ass? Like, bitch, shut the hell up! Nobody was even talking to you! It was a total "A and B conversation" moment, and she _definitely _needed to C her way out. (Shakes head) That has annoyed me for the longest. And now, I take my leave. (Bows humbly)


	6. Race

A/N: Yes, people, the mysterious absence of two stories on my profile page is not a glitch in the FF system...I have now deleted Money in My Hands and A Lust Unparalelled. (sniffles) To be honest, it was like an execution; I had to do it really quick so I wouldn't feel too much pain...or was it indigestion?

The reason for deletion was the fact that both of the stories just plain _sucked_. They _sucked_, especially with Money In My Hands because I let it drag on for so long. I had to cut that umbilical cord real quick.

And A Lust Unparalleled...plotless. Just plain plotless. It was really more of a PWP--porn without plot--than a real story, so I apologize to everyone who shall miss these historical stories (historical, at least, for me).

Well, anyways. I'd like all Money in My Hands and A Lust Unparalelled readers to...bow your heads in a moment of silence.

_..._

_..._

Okay, that's fine. I would say rest in peace, but I'm gonna delete them from my hard drive in a few days, so that won't be much of a rest for them.

* * *

_September 8_

_Yet another reason I like and respect Miroku is that he's a man of his word. I dropped the sickie off at the hospital and even waited until she got better after all those shots, and in return, I never saw her again! It was so great I even took it upon myself to ask Miroku just where she was exiled, and he told me she went to stay with her mother. That kind of soured me on the whole sex thing, but I gotta admit, just to be out of the wench's presence was enough for me._

_I write this as I walk with Miroku to school. It's my first day, of course, but I'm still fairly confident everything will be fine._

_I revealed to Miroku that my brother wanted me to settle down with some woman, to which he replied with nothing but sympathy for my plight, __**another **__reason I like him. Even so, I haven't done a thing to start looking for a mate, and frankly, I don't much intend to. I'll probably just find some girl, bribe her, and keep my manhood throughout_.

Inuyasha looked up at his somewhat sullen friend. "What's _your _problem?"

"Man...I don't feel like going to school today..."

"So you came because...?"

"'Cause I _have _to." He mumbled. "I mean, it's my first day as a senior—I'm not missing any days that I can't contribute to serious illness." As they walked through the gates of the schoolyard, all eyes fell onto Inuyasha, who remained impassive to the attention he seemed to attract as he followed Miroku.

_School has been boring thus far. Extremely boring._

He bumped into a girl coming out of the cafeteria with a bunch of friends and apologized on instinct, but wanted to retract the apology as soon as the girl shoved him back.

"Stupid bastard!" She scowled and Inuyasha mirrored the expression.

"Do I _know _you?"

"Kagome, who's your friend?" The girls giggled, and Inuyasha squinted his eyes, looking carefully at the face of the girl he'd hated ever since his departure from his home village.

"_Wench?_" He laughed in disbelief, looking up and down at her. "They finally let you out of the sick ward? I gotta say, I thought you'd be dead by now."

"Piss off, wanker."

"Any particular reason you tailed us to school?" Inuyasha drawled, crossing his arms.

"Excuse you, asshole, but this is my school, too!"

"..._What?!_" He ground his teeth together indignantly, glaring pointedly at Miroku, who gave a guilty grin. "You—come here!" Inuyasha grabbed Miroku by the sleeve of his jacket and dragged him into the cafeteria, as Kagome and her amorous friends walked off.

"Okay, before you—"

"_No_. Don't even bother. What you will explain, however, is just why the fuck I was not informed that that disgusting bitch would be here, contaminating the air that _I _have to breathe with her bitchiness!"

"Inuyasha, come on, now, seriously! Why can't you two just let bygones be bygones?!"

"My people hold grudges." Inuyasha huffed shortly. "We don't know the definition of the word bygone. Besides, things would've been fine if she hadn't pushed me right after I apologized _and _called me a stupid bastard! She didn't have to say that! She did not have to say a goddamn thing, yet she did, and thus brought a barrage of insults upon herself!"

"Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic?" Miroku sighed wearily.

"No, I don't think so." The two sat down at a small round table, where Inuyasha pettily ignored Miroku's pleas for him to just leave Kagome alone.

_You know, Miroku might be a man of his word, but he's also a loophole man as well. The fucking wench is going to this school, and I wasn't told a goddamn thing! He told me she would be __**living **__with her mother, yet her mother lives upstate_ _and she's __**going to this school**__!_ _I'm so pissed now, I can barely see._

_And what makes it even worse is that Miroku seems to think that just because_ _the bitch isn't sick anymore, I'm supposed to automatically like her. What kind of cliche bullshit is __**that**__?!_ _When you hate somebody, you hate that motherfucker all the way, no matter what they look like, or it's not real hate, and I __**really hate **__that wench._

"Aw, crap..." Miroku's grumble drew Inuyasha from his malicious musings and he looked up to see a group of burly guys at their table all of a sudden. He cocked an eyebrow at them in boredom, his palm supporting his head.

"Hey, Miroku, who's your pretty friend?" The ringleader, naturally the dumbest and burliest of the group, sneered.

"Shouyou, not today, dude." Miroku sighed. "It's the first day of school, man."

"Hey, if I wanted to consult a calendar, I'd look at one, Higurashi." The idiot drawled, and Inuyasha got the impression that this boy would make the most intelligent of words sound like something at a brothel. The thought made him smirk, if only faintly, but Shouyou saw it and his own sneer widened. "Somethin' funny, pretty boy? What's this?" Before his fingers could come within reach of Inuyasha's coveted journal, they were grasped tightly and twisted a little in warning. Inuyasha's smouldering tangerine eyes bored into Shouyou's angry and bewildered caramel ones.

"I'm going to say this once, and hopefully, the first time, it will sink through your thick skull." He said calmly. "Touch this book and I'll wring the blood from your obese body as easily as if you were a rotten orange." Inuyasha slowly released the jock's fingers and he hissed, shaking the crumpled digits with a small wince.

"Fucking gay-ass weirdo..." He grumbled and they all left the table. Miroku stared in awe at Inuyasha, who remained unfazed.

"Damn, dude, you're extremely protective of that thing." He looked down at his own hands, about a foot away from the journal, and quietly slid them onto his lap, as if he were a reprimanded child.

"This is a special gift from my brother. It's one of the only things that kept me alive when I had nothing to eat and was about to go insane."

"What? But dude...your brother's obviously not broke, and you two seem like...well, hell, typical brothers! So how is that?"

"You're right. _He's _not broke, but I am. He feels it was necessary to leave me hanging onto life by the skin of my teeth, and just when I was on the brink of death, he would return and I could eat. Until then, though, I stayed locked up in whatever crappy hut we were living in at that time." Miroku gaped at him.

"Your brother's fucked up." He concluded, and Inuyasha chuckled.

"No, not fucked up, but harsh. He would never intentionally leave me to die. And after all, I did come out of it stronger than ever."

"...I guess..." Miroku mumbled, and the bell rung. The two gathered up their books and headed out of the cafeteria. "Need some help finding your first period?"

"How hard can it be to find the...gym?" Having committed his entire schedule to memory, all he needed was to know where his classes were.

"Did you say the gym?" A girl bounced up alongside him and he grinned at her. "I've got P.E. first period—you can come with me."

"That's very kind of you." Miroku chuckled with a shake of his head and headed for his math class.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The girl, whose name he discovered was Kimiko Hasagawa, turned out to be less athletic than he would've liked. In order to measure their levels of athleticism, the gym teacher, Aikawa-san, had them doing a rather intense obstacle course. They had to run a mile on a continuous track, then once they'd crossed the line eight times—eight times around was about a mile—, they then had to run off of the track and onto a long line of military-type obstacles, including scaling a tall wooden wall, climbing across a series of pull-up bars, and burrowing beneath barbed wire.

Inuyasha was doing pretty well for himself, going at a slower pace than normal if only to challenge himself, and the other students, generally humans, were having a hard time doing the mile. Only one person followed behind him when he ran off the track and got onto the wall, and it was the one person he hated in all the world.

"_Wench?!_" He gawked, nearly falling off the wall. She smirked maliciously at him.

"Didn't expect to see me, did you, asswipe?" Seeing that she was getting a little ahead of him, Inuyasha picked up the pace a bit more, dismayed that she still seemed to be neck and neck with him.

"Of course not. I thought you would be too far gone on your _meds _to even know how to spell your name." He scoffed, coming to the top of the wall and jumping down from there, quickening his dash. Much to his annoyance, Kagome never even broke stride.

"You know, that might have pissed me off back when I was sick with hyperpyrexia, but now...yeah, it just seems really childish." Inuyasha growled angrily, seeing her sprint ahead of him, and he surged forward, getting closer and closer to full speed.

"I'll fucking show you childish! No steroid-pumped slut is going to show _me _up!" He formicated beneath the barbed wire, paying no heed to the barbs cutting his skin, but even so, Kagome remained in the lead, gloating all the while with her self-confident rapidity when they came up from the barbed wire. Inuyasha's anger reached record heights when he saw that, despite his many bloody cuts, Kagome's ivory skin remained unmarred, and he fought not to snarl aloud as they came to the final course, several ropes hanging high above a pit of artificial quicksand. He immediately leapt onto the ropes, pushing his body to the limit, but upon looking behind him, he saw that Kagome was taking her time, carefully swinging from rope to rope like a fastidious monkey, and strangely enough, this pissed him off all the more.

He finished the rope course and ran along the short path back to where they had started, realizing that the course had been a very long loop. His fellow classmates cheered, exhausted though they were, and Inuyasha was inwardly embarrassed about his irregular respiration. His breathing returned to normal when Kagome strode onto the scene, arms swinging as though she hadn't a care in the world. She smiled at him, no doubt putting on a show for the class, and held out her hand for him to shake.

"I guess the best man really did win." She chuckled evenly and Inuyasha glared at her.

"Now that's what I call good sportsmanship. Very mature of you, Kagome." Aikawa-san smiled, and Kagome beamed proudly, her eyes smug. Though it sickened Inuyasha to touch the skin he knew from experience to be unsmooth and sweaty, he brought himself to smile and shake her hand. This time, it wasn't as he thought, but cold and callused, as was his own.

_She's still a fucking bitch._

"That was the best competition I've seen in years, you two! A military course run completely in the course of only four minutes and 39 seconds! The rest of you could learn something from these two about athletics! Now get on that track and run me another mile!" The class groaned tiredly, trudging to the track and running less than half-heartedly. Aikawa-san turned back to Inuyasha and Kagome and grinned, "As for you two, I'd like to offer you both a place on the track team. I know it's short notice, but I could really use the speed."

"I'll consider it." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Sorry, Aikawa-san, but I can't. I'm a cheerleader, and I'm on the volleyball team...and chorus, of course. So my schedule stays packed." Kagome smiled apologetically, and Aikawa-san sighed miserably.

"Alright...you can sit on the bleachers." She waved them off and went to watch the other students. Inuyasha stalked up the bleachers and sat at the very top, staring angrily at the cuts on his pale arms. Kagome laid on the bottommost row, her fingers flowing endlessly over the buttons of a cell phone. Inuyasha longed to write of this injustice in his journal, but he didn't want to break the pencil...again.

A girl with long platinum blonde hair and the feline ears and slender tail to match trekked up the bleachers and sat beside him.

"What's wrong with _you_?"

"Skanks piss me off." He huffed. The cat girl blinked.

"Who, Kagome?"

"If you can call _it _that."

"What'd she do? I thought you beat her in that race thing."

"The bitch knew what she was doing. She could've won, but she wanted to come out looking like the better person, so she lost on purpose." Inuyasha looked at her a little strangely. "Aren't you supposed to be running?"

"Uh, in these?" She lifted her toned leg, revealing the blue high heel on her foot. "I don't think so." Inuyasha was still spellbound to her bare legs, his eyes moving from her pedicured toes to the point of connection where her legs crossed each other.

"You've got nice legs...?" He trailed off, obviously wanting to know her name.

"Gingitsune." She smiled, and Inuyasha took her delicate hand, kissing it.

"Inuyasha. But you don't look like a fox to me."

"Kitsune ancestry."

"Are you a runner?"

"Not much of one. I mean...it's not that I don't lack the ability, but...I can't stand it."

"So how did you slip past Aikawa-san?"

"I just got in here. Shh." She put a finger to supple pink lips that made Inuyasha inadvertently lick his own. "I've never seen you around here before. New?"

"...Yeah." He blinked, after having shaken from his daze. "I, uh, came from the village Akaigawa a few months back."

"Really?" Her silver eyes sparkled with interest. "I have a younger cousin who comes from there, though more recently, he dwelt in Sapporo."

"What's his name?" Inuyasha asked curiously, though he felt he had an idea already.

"Shippou."

"I know him." He smiled. "I've been looking for him for a while, though..."

"He's staying with some woman there named Nanako...he says she's nice and one of him, so they get along well."

"I know her as well. Is he still there?"

"Sure. You can call him on my cell phone if you want." Inuyasha stared at her for a long time, then she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry—I forgot you were...you know...like...from a village. Don't worry, I'll do it for you..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: Yeah, so, yeah. This was slightly difficult to write, but damn it, we trudged through it! Mainly me.

Blood Rain: Don't you start that crap!

Black Ice: You may find it...coincidental that we're posting this on the same day we deleted A Lust Unparalleled and A Body She Couldn't Control.

Blood Rain: It's a distraction tecnique. Review and tell us if it worked!


	7. Gingitsune

Black Ice: Okay, so. Last chapter we made a little boo-boo; instead of Money in My Hands, we accidentally said we deleted A Body She Couldn't Control. Thanks to Dreamer6164 for pointing that out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_September 8_

_As the day progressed, I found that not only was Gingitsune a potential courtesan, but a buddy as well, by which I mean a good friend. I had two other classes with her, Algebra II and Anatomy/Physiology, my third and fourth classes respectively. Strangely enough, she shared many of my interests, and even a few of my dislikes._

_Such as Algebra II, for instance._

_I may have been a fast learner and everything, but I'd be damned if those numbers didn't confuse me to the point of madness._

_Luckily, Tsune-chan, as she would rather be called instead of her full name, was just as hopelessly inept at the damnable subject as I._

Inuyasha chuckled mirthfully at Gingitsune's frustrated growl at the test set before her. "What kind of bullshit is this?" She raged under her breath. "They give us a test on the first damn day?"

"They say it's a diagnostic; it's just to see what we know, Tsune-chan." He murmured.

"Which is nothing at all! And I mean not a damn thing! Isn't that what teachers are supposed to be for?!"

"Well, don't feel bad. My paper's black as well, and I intend to keep it that way."

"Then me, too." She huffed in protest and raised her hand. The teacher, a happy-go-lucky woman named Royama-san, acknowledged Gingitsune's hand with a smiley, "Yes?"

"Uh, I don't know any of this stuff." She complained.

"Well, that's okay, Gingitsune; some of it you might not know. This is just a diagnostic test to see what you _do _know, so I can know what level you're on."

"Yeah, but that's the problem—I don't know _any of this stuff_." The neko drawled, and the class snickered.

"That's fine, then, leave it blank."

"This isn't graded, is it?" Gingitsune asked suspiciously.

"No, dear..."

"Okay, cool." She thrust her paper as far away from her as it could get without being on the floor. "Stupid diagnostic test."

"You could at least try, Tsune-chan." Inuyasha suggested quietly.

"Try, hell! What has trying anything ever done for me?" Inuyasha chuckled again, shaking his head, and looked down at his own blank test. He was sure Gingitsune had to know _some _of what was on it, whereas he didn't know anything at all for real. She was probably just being rebellious or lazy, or possibly both.

He secretively whipped out his journal, which he had previously been told to put away, and began writing.

_Gingitsune is actually one of the first females to make me laugh, and not lustfully or maliciously like usual. Just...laugh. In amusement. It's very strange._

_However, I feel I must admit that she's just the distraction I needed to get the suddenly athletic wench off my mind. Which is also strange; how is it that she acquired such physical prowess in such a short time? It's inhuman...which makes me think that perhaps she's not truly adopted..._

_I don't know. Nanako is the absolute epitome of beauty, and yet her disgusting daughter is so...unlike her. Whatever the case may be—_

"Inuyasha, what is that?" Inuyasha's shoulders went rigid and he moved his hands over the writings of his journal, looking up at Royama-san, who stood over him with a stern look on her face.

"What is what, Royama-san?" He said evenly, meeting Gingitsune's amused look with the utmost seriousness, and looked back at his teacher.

"What is that you're writing in? Is it that dirty book that I told you to put away?" Other than the slight twitch of his eyebrow, Inuyasha's face remained still.

_Dirty book...bitch._

"I'm doing the test as I was instructed to." By a discreet slip, Inuyasha moved his hands again to reveal his test sitting atop his journal. Royama-san looked at him suspiciously for a few moments, then nodded.

"Alright...but keep that book in your bag until your test is done." She walked away from him and Inuyasha made a face behind her back. Gingitsune snickered wildly, holding out her palm.

"_Nice!_" Inuyasha smacked her palm in a congenial gesture. "That was plain magic!"

"Thank you quite much." He smirked, and looked back down in boredom at his test.

_Ah, well. Might as well wing it._

He speedily marked random answers on the test and about five minutes later, he raised his hand. "Royama-san, I'm done." He called calmly. With a smile, the teacher came over and picked up his test.

"Alright, you can write in your book now." When she left again, Inuyasha mumbled, "As if I needed your permission..."

"Seriously." Gingitsune snorted, crossing her arms. "I can't stand when teachers do that." Inuyasha grinned and started back at his journal.

—_Whatever the case may be—_

Inuyasha paused, cursing Royama-san for her interruption. Now he'd forgotten what he was about to say. With an annoyed mumble, he erased the beginning of the incomplete sentence.

—_unlike her. In any case—_

Now he cursed himself for just having remembered.

—_I find it extremely hard to believe the bitch is a kyuuketsuki. Gingitsune, I could maybe understand; she possesses the strength, wit, and beauty._

He looked over at her as she stared intently at a pencil she was rolling around on her desk, and Inuyasha anime-sweatdropped.

_I said wit, not intelligence. And if I be wrong about her, may my ears be crippled by a cacophonous noise!_

As if cued to do so, the bell screeched, making his pointed ears tremble. He ground his teeth together.

_The bell just rang, but I'm sure it was nothing but coincidence._

"Whoo! Time for lunch!" Gingitsune grinned happily, jumping out of her desk.

"Has the bell always been so loud?" Inuyasha hissed, gathering up his books.

"Yeah, but you get used to it. Come, sit with me at my table."

"Okay." They walked out of the class and headed for the cafeteria, already half-packed with book-weary students waiting on food. Gingitsune sat at a small round table and Inuyasha sat opposite her. "I'd really like to go see Shippou. It's been ages since I last saw him."

"Yeah? When school's over, I'll take you over there. He owes me a bit of change anyway." Her attention was given to something else and she yelled, "Hey! Kicchan, over here!" Inuyasha blinked in confusion. "Hey, Inuyasha, let me introduce you to my friend here." A palish, fluffy-tailed nekomata joined the small table and smiled at them both. "Kicchan, this is Inuyasha, my new buddy. Inuyasha, this is Kicchan, otherwise known as Kirara."

"It's enchanting to meet you." Inuyasha purred suavely, taking Kirara's hand and kissing it, just as he had done Gingitsune. Kirara grinned dryly.

"Likewise."

"What's really strange about him is that he can't stand Kagome Higurashi, for some reason." Gingitsune snickered.

"You don't? That _is _weird." Kirara murmured. "Everybody likes Kagome."

"I don't see why. She's a total bitch in my opinion."

"Then you must've pissed her off or something, because the Kagome I know is very rarely a bitch."

"I agree." Kirara nodded. "Even as the cheerleading captain, she doesn't fit the stereotype at all...which is more than I can say for some of us." She looked pointedly at a girl at another table, surrounded by several people who were all laughing at something she'd just said, and Gingitsune and Inuyasha followed her gaze.

"Who's _she_?"

"Your traditional school bitch." Gingitsune mumbled. "Kagura of the Wind."

"She's got a title?" Inuyasha mused. "Impressive."

"Yeah, well, don't waste your time. She's dating Shouyou, that bulky dunce chugging root beer over there while his teammates cheer him on."

"Shouyou? I seem to recall nearly breaking a Shouyou's fingers this morning."

"You would really do well not to bother them. Just let them be idiots by themselves." Kirara said quietly, sipping a bottle of V8.

"I love a challenge." Inuyasha shrugged. "I suppose that's all I can really say." He got up and started to approach Kagura's table, but both Kirara and Gingitsune grabbed his wrists and stopped him.

"Dude, listen and listen well." Gingitsune sighed. "Don't fuck with that girl. And I mean this literally."

"I don't see why not." Inuyasha gently wrenched himself free of their grasps and crossed his arms, daring them to explain. "I mean, she's not ugly. She's not sick. The way I see it, I could have her on her back in five seconds."

"Well, now, aren't we cocky." Kirara smirked.

"No, just truthful."

"Inuyasha...trust me, dude. As your friend, I'm telling you _do not do it_." Gingitsune said firmly, and the warning in her voice made Inuyasha sigh and sit back down, staring at Kagura.

_I wonder what it is about that girl that's making Kirara and Gingitsune act this way. Whatever it is, it's only making me more intrigued about her...Oh, great._

His thoughts began taking a turn for the worse when Kagome approached Kagura's table and sat down, joining in the laughter. Inuyasha scowled, crossing his arms.

"Why must that disgusting wench always mess up something good?" Gingitsune looked at him curiously.

"What, you two used to date or something?" She asked, and instead of being offended like his first instinct told him, Inuyasha merely chuckled.

"That's like asking if a god screwed a pig."

"Whoa, now, nobody said "screw". I said "date". Though, nowadays, it's one and the same, but the point remains valid."

"No." He replied smoothly, though his insides roiled with revulsion at the mere thought.

_Enemies make strange bedfellows. And I'm all for a kinky romp, but that...that's just nasty._

"Oh. Well, damn." Gingitsune pouted, and Inuyasha forced himself to turn away from his hostility to concentrate on her and how fuckable she looked pouting like that. "That would've explained your hatred, but...if you never dated her, and you never fucked, then how come you hate her so much?"

"Because I do, okay? I don't feel I need to justify my hate. My people are known for such trains of thought."

"Alright, whatever..." Gingitsune shrugged, and turned back to Kagura's table for a source of entertainment. Kagome whispered something to the other girl and, with an intrigued feline grin, she nodded. "That's never good."

"What?" Kirara sipped nonchalantly at her V8, her eyes drifting idly over to Kagura, who directed a sultry smirk at Inuyasha. However, he was too preoccupied with writing in his journal to notice, but Kirara and Gingitsune did, and looked grimly at each other.

_I'm here at lunch with Tsune-chan and a new friend, Kirara, and in record time, I've gone from interested to pissed. I was interested because a particularly juicy morsel had caught my eye_ _mere seconds after I met Kirara, a prize in and of herself, but I got pissed once the wench made herself comfortable right in my line of sight._

_Tsune-chan asked if I had dated the wench. It was laughable, yet it made me want to slit her throat for the implication. Once I declined, it got me to thinking: would I one day be able to overcome my disgust regarding Kagome Higurashi, and even go to the extremes of tolerating her presence enough to actually __**fuck **__her?_

The concept was so nonsensical to Inuyasha, he actually laughed aloud, startling Kirara and Gingitsune.

"Dude, are you high or something?" Gingitsune blinked.

"What are you writing?" Kirara tried to peer at his journal, but he quickly slammed it shut with an amused sigh.

"No offense, Kirara, but I'm extremely protective of my journal."

"Oh." She cleared her throat. "Okay, then. I understand."

"I'm so glad you do...most people don't grasp that right off the bat." Inuyasha smiled coolly, drumming his clawed fingers on the table to emphasize just what had happened to those people. This time it was Kirara who laughed.

"I like you, Inuyasha."

"And I reiterate...I'm glad you do." His smile fell, as did his eyes, and he stared pointedly at his journal as Kagome and Kagura approached the table.

"Hi, guys!" Kagome smiled cheerfully.

"Hey, Kagome." Gingitsune waved, and Kirara did the same, but naturally, Inuyasha remained silent. His body went rigid when he suddenly felt the warmth of Kagome leaning over his shoulder and murmuring into his ear, "I believe I just said, "Hi, _guys_," not "Hi, Kirara and Gingitsune"." Her long hair scratching annoyingly at his face, but that was the last thing on his mind. He was more concerned about how intensely his hands shook, as well as the outraged fury that wracked his very soul to the core at her insolence. She _dared _speak to him? After that little stunt she pulled this morning? The bitch was lucky he didn't forget himself in front of all these other humans and kill her where she stood!

Inuyasha hadn't been aware that he was growling under his breath until Gingitsune placed a worried hand onto his in a placating gesture.

"Dude, chill. She just asked you to speak to her."

"I don't speak to sluts." He mumbled, locking his fingers together. Instead of being offended, however, Kagome snickered, and she and Kagura walked away.

"Wow, Inuyasha, you really don't like her, do you?"

"I hold grudges very strongly. That's all I can say." He sighed, trying to calm himself down.

_The next time she tries that kind of shit...she won't be spared._


	8. Shippou

_I left school at the end of the day with Gingitsune and Kirara, feeling more than a little disgruntled. Royama-san had approached me and told me I needed a tutor. What am I, an idiot? Why would I need a tutor? I professed this quite clearly to her, but still, she insisted I get one. Finally, I agreed and she told me she had a pretty effective one. It was implied that this tutor was female, so I agreed again, more fervently. With a smile, Royama-san said I could meet the tutor in the private—emphasis on private—study hall during lunch._

_So, you ask, __**why **__am I disgruntled?_

_Because guess who the tutor is._

_I'm not even going to waste precious pencil lead and paper_ _writing that thing's name. I mean, fucking honestly! That is all the hell I need right now! First she's better than me at athletics; now math?! What's next: she can read better than me?!_

"Dude, cheer up." Gingitsune grinned, after having laughed her ass off at Inuyasha's predicament. "It won't be that bad. At least you'll be great at math. That chick's a whiz at it, apparently."

"Shut up, Tsune-chan." Inuyasha grumbled.

"I don't understand, Inuyasha. Why can't you just like Kagome?"

"What reason do I have to do so?!" The vampire snapped. "None, that's what! None whatsoever!"

"Alright, alright, fine..." Kirara sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You'll feel better once we get some food."

"I have no taste for food."

"Don't be such a funky bunny!" Gingitsune huffed, glaring over her shoulder at him. "What _do _you want?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, picking at his nails, though the glint in his eyes spoke volumes to her. She blushed slightly and turned back around.

"Uh...how about a movie? I've been wanting to see Shutter for a while." Kirara's cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she withdrew it, reading the text message.

"I've already seen it." Inuyasha yawned indifferently, prompting another glare from Gingitsune. "But I didn't understand it. I guess there's nothing wrong with a rerun."

"Whatever...what about you, Kicchan?"

"Sorry, but I can't. Track team meeting. Kagome just called it." Inuyasha gave her an annoyed look at the mention of the hated girl, but she merely shrugged. "See you guys tomorrow." She dashed off, and Inuyasha moved to Gingitsune's side with a languorous smirk.

"Guess it's just me and you, then."

"Don't try anything funny, Dracula." The girl warned. "I might not have a boyfriend, but that doesn't mean I'm some easy jumper."

"I would never assume that." Inuyasha murmured innocently.

"Besides, we just met today. Maybe in a few weeks after we know each other better." She sniffed, and he shrugged again.

"More resilient than you have tried. But I find that apparently I'm virtually irresistible."

"Ooh, somebody's confident."

"As well I should be." Inuyasha's eyes traveled down her well-rounded body and he felt a shudder of desire course throughout his own. "But don't worry; even after I leave you begging for more pleasure, I still want to be your friend."

"Don't be stupid." Gingitsune pinked, but something inside her told her he was right. "You know, the real world is a lot different from that village you're used to. You can't just go around fucking everybody on a whim, Inuyasha."

"...Why not? The way I see it, it's exactly the same." Inuyasha shrugged. "Hell, no one's stopped me before."

"Well, mine is the iron will. I don't care what you've _been _doing, but it won't work on me."

"We'll see." Inuyasha chuckled, letting his finger drift over the clothed flesh of the neko's behind. Gingitsune stiffened and punched him in the shoulder with an angry blush, but he only laughed. "Today's going to be so fun."

They came to the movie theater, the line for which, strangely enough, was extremely long. Inuyasha sighed, slightly annoyed, and Gingitsune shared the sentiment.

"Lines suck." She complained.

"They really do."

"And just how much do you wanna bet that these same people are in line to see the movie _we _wanna see?!"

"A lot."

"Is this movie even really all that great?"

"I couldn't say."

"Hmm...you know what? Movies suck."

"I agree."

"Let's go someplace else."

"Okay." Gingitsune and Inuyasha stepped out of the line and left, wandering the streets aimlessly.

"Where do you wanna go?"

"I dunno. Where do you want to go?"

"I dunno." Gingitsune groaned, pulling on her hair. "This is unbearable! Why the hell can we never find anything to do?!"

"Mm-mm." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Okay...wanna go to the coffee shop?" Inuyasha grimaced.

"I'm not particularly fond of coffee."

"Yeah...now that you mention it, neither am I. How about the mall? You can buy me something!"

"Uh...no. I don't think so."

"Wanna go get pizza?"

"You know, the more suggestions you throw out there, the more this is beginning to sound like a date. Is this, perchance, a date?" Inuyasha grinned. "Because if it is, we could just skip the foreplay and go right to my house."

"Oh-ho-ho, no." She chuckled. "I don't _think _so. We'll go to _my _house, where you'll have absolutely no chance of getting any because there's a family reunion going on. It's packed." Inuyasha shrugged.

"I've done it in more packed places before. The fuller, the better." Gingitsune scoffed.

"Gross..."

"Tsune-chan, why be so resistant to my charm? _I _know you're attracted to me. _You _know you're attracted to me. Nobody has to know what we do behind closed doors, do they?"

"The point is that _I'll _know, and it'll show all over my face, and every guy within a six-mile radius is going to think I'm the easiest girl in the Orient."

"But I was under the impression that obstinate people like you and I were above what people thought." He slipped an arm around her waist and stroked her plump lips with the smoother side of his index claw.

"I am. That doesn't mean I have to screw you just to prove it." She mumbled, and Inuyasha spun her into the dark alley between two buildings, pressing her body against the brick wall.

"Give in to your desires, Gingitsune." He breathed sensually against her extrasensitive ear, his eyes glowing in the darkness. The already spellbound Gingitsune stared into their burning golden depths and felt her inhibitions lowering, despite her meekly mumbled protests. Inuyasha trailed his fuchsia tongue over the soft spot in her neck, exhilarated by the feel of her hot blood coursing through her jugular vein.

"Well, well. I leave you alone for a few years and this is what you've condescended to? Tempting pretty young girls in dark allies?" Inuyasha's eyes flickered lazily to the side, though he knew the voice of his young charge before even seeing him. Gingitsune's face reddened considerably and she shrank away, embarrassed at being caught in such an act by her own cousin.

"Shippou?" The two said with varying intensity.

"The one and only!" He smirked, and Inuyasha respectfully backed away from Gingitsune, turning to Shippou with an expressionless face. "What, mad I prevented you from getting some?" Gradually, a wide grin made its way across Inuyasha's features and he grabbed the lanky boy, embracing him with a laugh.

"You little bastard, where the hell have you been?"

"Ah, you know...getting away from my roots." Shippou mock-grimaced as Inuyasha playfully ruffled his tufted hair. "Jeez...what are you, my dad or something?"

"Can I go now?" Gingitsune whined, her face still red.

"You might as well; there's no way you two are gonna be screwing like piggies on _my _account." She glared at the younger boy, shoving him out of her way before stalking out of the alley. Inuyasha leaned casually against the brick wall, looking critically at Shippou.

"Okay...so where have you _really _been, Shippou? Or should I say, _Kogane_?" He drawled, and Shippou pinked.

"So you know about that?" He mumbled.

"Yes. I do _know_. And I'm extremely disappointed in you: what are you, insane?"

"But you don't _understand_, Inuyasha. I had to leave the village because I couldn't bear the change any longer. I had to escape, or I was gonna do insane."

"Shippou, you're not that much older than me, and you saw it when _I _went through the change. It wasn't that bad, was it?" Shippou cast him a dry look and he merely smirked as they left the alley, heading for Inuyasha's apartment. "Okay, so maybe it was a little difficult."

"Sesshoumaru had to nearly drown you in cold water, dude. That sounds more than a little difficult to me."

"Well, you can't run from the change. I learned that the hard way. Did you?"

"...Kinda...I was on a sexual rampage for an entire twelvemonth, taking different forms for flexibility...it finally proved to be too much for me and I lay half-dead on the side of the road in canine form." Despite the despondence of the subject, Shippou couldn't help a smile. "It wasn't long before I met Kagome." Inuyasha scowled.

_Even my faithful follower practically worships the ground that bitch walks on._

"I don't think I want to hear this part."

"Oh, come on, Inuyasha—you've got to be a little curious."

"I'm curious about castration as well, but that doesn't mean I want to hear about it."

"You are?"

"Shippou..." Inuyasha growled.

"Well, I just thought you would at least want to hear the story, seeing as you're heading for her house."

"I'm not _heading for her house_. The bitch just resides in my complex, that's all."

"Oh. Well, let me tell it anyway!"

"Fine, you whiny little runt!"

"Thank you." Shippou beamed. "Kagome loves animals, more so than anyone I've ever seen before, so naturally, she would help me out. I woke up in her mother's house and nearly bit her, but then I saw her for what she was and submitted in deference. No matter how crazy I may get, I know better than to try a stunt like that."

"Mm." Inuyasha mumbled, remembering himself when he tried to get Nanako to sleep with him.

_Damn, that woman's hard-to-get._

"We talked a while, while my raging blood cooled, and I found even more reasons to love Kagome—she treated me like a normal person, even after she found out what I was."

"Mm." Now the gears in Inuyasha's brain began turning. "You know she's adopted, right?"

"Adopted?" Shippou frowned. "No, Nanako's her blood mother, for lack of a better term."

"Of course..." Inuyasha mumbled, clenching his fists.

_Well...at least that explains why she's faster than me...possibly._

"And what about her father? That's who Miroku said she was living with over here."

"..." Shippou was quiet, which was blatantly unusual for him, and stirred suspicion within Inuyasha. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Her father _is _a _kyuuketsuki_...right?"

"Inuyasha, please don't tell Sesshoumaru about this." Shippou pled and Inuyasha's features tautened in disbelief.

"She's a half-breed!" He yelled, and Shippou quickly shushed him, looking around nervously. "Shippou, what the hell?!"

_... _Inuyasha was unable to form a proper train of thought. _I...I was bested...by a __**half-breed**__?!_

It was a major blow to his ego to know this, but more importantly, the more malicious part of him knew just what he could do to get rid of her.

"Just...keep it under your hat, please, Inuyasha!"

"Uh-uh!" Inuyasha laughed evilly. "I hate that wench, and this is the perfect opportunity to dispose of her!"

"But _why_, Inuyasha?!" Shippou cried. "What did Kagome ever do to you?!"

"She challenged my word." The older vampire crossed his arms, referring to Kagome's instant mistrust of him, even after he promised himself he wouldn't hurt either her or Miroku. "She's a disrespectful harlot, as well as annoying, and in all honesty, why should I like someone who clearly doesn't like me?" Shippou looked at him strangely for a while, then broke out into a knowing grin.

"Oh! I get it now! You don't like her because she's not interested in you!"

"...Excuse me?" Inuyasha muttered dryly, laughing derisively. "That's funny, though. Honestly, worried about _one _girl's opinion—a halfling, at that—while hundreds of others are just waiting to fall helpless at my feet."

"Well, it's hard not to think highly of Kagome. She's beautiful, intelligent, loving—"

"Expected of a half-human." Inuyasha waved him off flippantly. "Much too emotional for my liking."

"Oh? This from the man who just hugged me not five minutes ago?" Shippou teased, and Inuyasha scowled, crossing his arms.

"You can't prove that." However, even with his constant denials, a small part of Inuyasha had to wonder...could that really have been the cause for his seemingly inexplicable hatred?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: I don't really feel that this will be a long story.

Blood Rain: Then again, we didn't think No Secrets in Strangetown would be long either, and it's rolling off the computer screen as we speak. --'

Black Ice: So I guess you could say that, with us, it's hard to make a prediction about story length. Y'know. 'Cause we're so damned unpredictable.

Blood Rain: But if we had to make a prediction, we'd say twenty chapters. The only reason we're still inspired with this thing is because of the constant reviews. You guys really seem to like this thing. God only knows why, but...far be it from us to deny you this.

Black Ice: (mumbles) Especially after you deleted Money In My Hands...

Blood Rain: You shut your mouth! (Smacks Black Ice in the mouth with a rusted chain)

Black Ice: (crumples to the ground, bleeding) Review...

Blood Rain: (suspiciously eyes readers, idly smacking palm with rusted chain) Yeah...you didn't see anything.


	9. Tutor

_September 16_

_I hate to be wrong. Is it obvious? What Shippou said struck an honest chord in me, and I realized, with an almost permeable sense of revulsion and horror, that he could be right and I wrong. I was so used to being constantly desired, it flared me up that this __**halfling **__would be so audacious as to contradict that, when there had been many women, full-fledged vampires, even, to succumb to my charms._

_Forgive me if I seem to be rambling a tad. I tend to get a little verbose when I'm confused, and I've never been more so. I've been in a shell-shocked stupor these past days, numbly considering a truth in Shippou's otherwise innocent words. I knew he'd only been joking—he reiterated this several times—, but that didn't make it any less possible that there could be a shred of truth within the jest._

_My thoughts and vexation sapped all of my angry energy usually directed at the girl—_

The pencil froze in Inuyasha's hand and he groaned, his thoughts having been more on the old track of "wench", not "girl", but he felt too lazy to erase and rewrite, so he let it remain, staring sullenly at the door.

—_, so I haven't been myself lately; that is to say, snappish. I haven't even begun flirting with Kagura as I had planned so many days ago, nor have I even made any further progress with Gingitsune, which brought me under suspicion in her eyes. She's bound to ask me about it sometime._

_Today is the first day I have attended that study session Royama-san arranged for me. If you'll recall, the halfling is to be my tutor. The only reason I even came was to conduct a little experiment to verify whether Shippou was right, or if all that alcohol-ridden blood has finally gotten to my head._

"Dude..." Gingitsune came into the room with a slight frown on her face, surveying the small room. "What are you doing in here? It's so...dark and depressing." Inuyasha looked around at the fluorescent light, the colorful, exotic plants, the flamboyant carpeting, and the several vibrant drawings adorning the walls, and he nodded gravely.

"You're right. It looks like a torture chamber in here. I'm waiting on my stupid tutor." The neko chuckled and sat down beside him.

"You realize that tutoring isn't _mandatory_...right?"

"Yes, but so far, I've been failing all my math assignments. It's mandatory for _me_."

"Heh. All _I _gotta do is apply myself and I'll have these by the boatload." She pulled a glittery test paper out of her bag, marked A, smirking proudly. Inuyasha huffed in annoyance, crossing his arms.

"So? That doesn't mean you're automatically smart or something."

"Au contraire, my perpetually horny friend. I am indeed that."

"Then why are you in here, Gingitsune?" Inuyasha forced himself to look at the cockily grinning girl in the doorway.

"Ah, you know. Just wanna teach _you _a few things."

"Well, you're welcome to stay and help your friend there." Inuyasha scowled; how dare she so tawdrily tack him on at the end of the statement! As if he were a crappy honorable mention!

"Whatever." He mumbled sourly.

"Ooh, I see someone's just come fresh from cheerleading practice." Gingitsune prattled on, but before Kagome could smile and reply, Inuyasha cleared his throat loudly.

"Yeah, I'd like to get this over with, _PLEASE_." He drawled.

"Like you had someplace to go!" Gingitsune laughed, but Kagome merely chuckled and nodded.

"You're right, Inuyasha. Let's get started." Inuyasha took out his math notebook and grudgingly listened to his tutor, pretending to write everything she said verbatim, but really writing in his journal. He watched her attentively, attempting to gauge just how potentially attractive she was.

_So far, I haven't noticed much worth talking about. She's not really all that ugly anymore, which I attribute to the lack of sickness—though I wouldn't go so far as to say pretty—, and she's smart, I guess. I don't think I'm __**intimidated**__, per se, by smart women, but it's just a turnoff to know that I wouldn't have her completely under my control. Sexy and stupid, that's the way __**I **__like 'em!_

_Her legs are okay, but not as silky smooth as Tsune-chan's..._

As he wrote this, he crept his cool fingers up Gingitsune's bare legs, making the neko squeak in startled surprise and blush. Kagome's back remained turned to them, but even so, Gingitsune would not stand for his lewdness. She grabbed his hand and chomped his fingers, forcing him to bite the inside of his cheek in order to keep from howling in pain. Inuyasha tenderly clutched his fingers, bitten and bleeding, and mouthed, "You _bitch_!"

"Perv!" She hissed back, silently blowing a raspberry at him. She got to her feet and said aloud, "This has been oodles of fun, Kagome, really it has, but I've got to jet, darlin'."

"Okay. Sorry I'm boring you." Kagome smiled, waving goodbye to Gingitsune. Inuyasha's eyes were transfixed on that smile, analyzing it.

_She has a rather unusual smile...ambiguous. It could mean anything at any time: happiness, malice...lust._

Inuyasha stared down at his writings with a shudder.

_I'm not saying I like it. It's just weird, that's all._

Sighing, he put away his journal, his findings inconclusive. He figured that now, he might as well pay real attention, because hitherto, he hadn't done anything in the way of homework.

"I hope that, just because your friend's gone, you won't be any more bored." Kagome smirked wryly, an amused glimmer in her eye telling him that she had indeed seen him catching a feel of Gingitsune's legs.

"Har har." Inuyasha snorted, refusing to let this faze or embarrass him. "I severely doubt I can be any more bored."

"Sure, but you're learning something, aren't you? And to top it all off, you're actually _talking _to me! Oh, hallelujah! Praise the gods!" She added, much too exuberantly to be serious. Inuyasha glared at her.

"Look, bitch, the sarcasm is sorely overdone. Stuff a fucking cork in it and teach me something, goddamn it."

"Not before _I _learn a little something first. Why the sudden change in attitude? God only knows, if you'd been this verbal with me from the start, I might've fallen in love with you much quicker." Kagome smiled sardonically, sitting on the desk and crossing her legs.

"As if it's any of your business. And even if it were, I wouldn't tell _you_." He sneered. To explain his motives would be too much like surrendering his pride, and that was one thing he absolutely refused to do.

_For God's sake, it, aside from Shippou, Miroku, and Gingitsune, of course, is the only thing on my side nowadays._

"Okay, then. Have you done your homework?" She beamed, as if she were a doting mother talking down to her dim-witted child.

"No, I haven't done this stupid shit because you haven't taught me anything!" Inuyasha yelled, his blood boiling. Not only was the brazen halfling annoying him out of his wits, but condescending to him as well.

"Haven't I, Inuyasha? Haven't I? Or weren't you just paying attention?" She gestured to the board, on which was written the exact definition of absolute value—what Inuyasha's homework was on—, as well as several examples to be modeled after.

_...Damn crafty wench. Thinks she's so damn smart._

"Well, in any case..." Kagome shrugged, "it's not my place to teach you these things, or even to make sure you do your homework. I help you along; those who get it, good. Those who don't, it ain't no skin off my nose. You either get it or you don't." To be honest, none of this was hard. Inuyasha just felt like being a lazy brat, and maybe she'd be exposed as the inadequate imbecile she truly was and lose her position. Plus, if he pretended slowness, maybe the wench would be blamed and berated for it. But now, it seemed that only he would, and that just would not work for him.

"As long as I retain my perfect A-double-plus average, I honestly don't care what happens to you." His overcompetitive spirit flared up like a bad rash and he leapt out of his seat.

"Yeah?! Well, so what?!" He snapped. "I'm no _idiot_; _I _can make an A-_**triple**_-plus and make your sorry double look like piss on a dirty window!"

"Can you really?" Kagome drawled, obviously uninterested in his emphatic declarations.

"You're fucking right I can!" Inuyasha slung his bag onto his shoulders and grabbed his books. "I require your retarded tutoring services no longer, _MADAM_." Sarcasm came in clear as a bell in his tone, and it wasn't missed on the ever-sharp Kagome. She just looked at him, half-bored, a quarter amused, and a quarter...triumphant? Inuyasha's furious scowl deepened.

_She's probably just so fucking proud she bested me. Well, that gratuitous sense of pride won't last much longer. I'm gonna take that bigoted bitch down a few pegs where she belongs—in a half-breed's place!_

This foregone conclusion firmly planted in his mind, Inuyasha stalked out, slamming the door behind him and creating a gust of wind that blew several papers around. The room was now a complete disaster area. Kagome chuckled with a shake of her head as she began collecting the papers from the floor.

"My work here is done. Boys are so gullible..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I don't know, dude." Gingitsune scratched her ear as she relaxed in Inuyasha's plush apartment, Shippou close by. "Seems to me like you were just a little too harsh on her."

"Harsh, hell. She deserved every lash of that verbal ass-whipping I dealt her, and she knows it, I know it, and you know it."

"But she took time out of her personal schedule to tutor you, Yash. I don't know; I just feel like you didn't treat her as fairly as you should have."

"Halflings like her are content to take what they can get." Inuyasha said curtly, crossing his arms. "She's lucky to be so well-liked, but then again, this is generally an ignorant society. Most don't even know about our existence, much less that of a half-breed. Those are supposed to be executed at birth, by law." Inuyasha shook his head. "By all accounts and purposes, she should be dead."

"Only if _somebody _doesn't keep his fat, fangy trap shut." Shippou growled.

"What do I look like, some kind of snitch?" Inuyasha mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"You were certainly some kind of _something_ last week." Shippou snorted.

"Hey, don't get your nose boxed in." Inuyasha threatened, lazily holding up a fist. Gingitsune chuckled, then her expression sobered.

"Well, don't tell on her, Inuyasha. That's cold, even for you, and you're cold as ice." To emphasize the statement, she leaned on his shirtless shoulder and shivered. Inuyasha grinned, putting his arm around her.

"Bet you could get used to this little position, couldn't you?" Gingitsune blushed, then huffed.

"Don't get full of yourself. I was just making a demonstration."

"Yet you're still in my arms." The neko nearly protested, then sighed wearily, deciding she might as well tell the truth.

"Yeah, well...you get warm after prolonged exposure to others."

"More specifically, women. Soft, hot-blooded, mature women...like you." Gingitsune blanched a little at the mention of blood, and Inuyasha, taking note of her sudden discomfort, quickly amended, "No, no, hold on. Sorry; that was a little slip of the tongue. Force of habit...sorry."

"Right...now I _really _don't think you consider me a midday snack." She muttered, and in order to soothe her raised hackles, Inuyasha stroked her back. As any able-minded cat would, Gingitsune immediately commenced to purring languorously, sounding like a well-oiled machine. Inuyasha couldn't help a smile as she drifted off to sleep.

"Shippou," he mumbled quietly, so as not to wake Gingitsune, "you awake?"

"Do I ever sleep?" was the yawning reply.

"Good. Bring me my journal, then you can go back to sleep." His smile curved into a smirk. "I've got a lot to record."

A few moments later, Inuyasha had his notebook in hand, his finger quivering excitedly. He had so much tow rite, he wasn't sure where to start.

_The wench has inadvertently relinquished the very privilege of being called "girl", and instead must now settle for the derogatory "wench", "bitch", and, of course,the occasional "slut"_. _Why, you ask?_

_Knowing that her very world was new to me, knowing I hadn't yet fully acclimated to these learnings, that bitch threw her retained education up in my face. She as well had the very __**gall **__to insult my intelligence even further by talking to me as if I were a doddering child to be mollycoddled._

_I think very well I proved myself contrary._

_I'll spare further detail; just know that I made my point quite clear._

_I came back home with Gingitsune—under the annoyingly careful watch of Shippou—and told all that had occurred. She was—and more than likely still is—of the belief that I was "too harsh" in my judgement regarding the wench. I retorted that I wasn't—the half-breed got off on an extraordinary lucky break. I could've called her out for what she really was, but I was far too gentlemanly to do that, so I left it alone. Besides, when she sees that I'm much smarter than her, the crushing blow to ego will be far more satisfying than her reaction to my knowledge_ _of her damning parentage._

_Gingitsune, who lies on my lap as I write, is a very effective diversion from my problems with the halfling. Though her blood, warm and sweet-scented, calls out to me, I dare not sacrifice her friendship for something so petty as sustenance._

Inuyasha paused to chuckle.

_I never thought I'd even think those words, much less know them to be true. Gingitsune is a good friend, and a prospectively delicious morsel, and it flatters my beyond words that, despite the sometimey air of discomfort she tends to develop around me, she trusts me enough to actually sleep near me._

He unconsciously licked his lips, staring down at the neko's neck with a shuddery exhalation.

_So mature, yet so naïve..._

_For some reason, however, I get the feeling that she is not entirely asleep. She's more than likely on her guard in a state of half-sleep, ready to retreat, should I make even the slightest gesture to harm her._

_This is the one time I thank Sesshoumaru for having strengthened my willpower with his stupid tests_.

Without warning, the front door was heard opening, then closing, but even though Inuyasha's eyes remained trained on the pages of his journal, he knew the cuase of the sound.

_Shippou has just left. He comes and goes, but it doesn't take a genius to know where—next door, to the wench's home, probably in his guise as a domesticated dog._

Inuyasha grimaced with a small shake of his head.

_I can't stomach even the notion of subjecting oneself to a lower life form. I can barely stand the presence of humans, and they're only one species beneath me..._

Gingitsune fidgeted in her sleep, an indication that she would soon be waking up.

_I must go; the silver fox is stirring._

Inuyasha smirked and closed the journal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: Wow, this chapter was unusually longer than usual.

Blood Rain: Or was it? I wonder. (Shakes head)

Black Ice: Don't you have a chain to find?

Blood Rain: (growls) I know you hid my goddamn chain, you little slut. And when I find it, I'm going to _whip the piss right out of you!! _(stalks off in search of chain)

Black Ice: (gaze shifts suspiciously, then beckons readers closer to whisper) Shh...don't tell, but I hid the chain. Where, I'll never tell. Some of you may be spies...and I just cannot afford to have this beautiful face marred any further by those damned hurty chains!

Blood Rain: DAMN YOU, ICE! WHERE IS MY CHAIN?! (breaks out in tears)

Black Ice: (smirks) That's my favorite sound in the entire universe. (Eats popcorn and watches while Blood Rain has a nervous breakdown)


	10. Shouyou

_September 18_

_Having forsaken_ _my futile experiment, I decided to pursue Kagura of the Wind. I've never been one to actually fight a man for a woman, so it wasn't easy catching her eye with her hulking boyfriend in my line of sight all the time._ _I've said it before and I'll say it again: I do so love a challenge._

"Dude...you're insane." Miroku mumbled that day at lunch, watching as Inuyasha stared indifferently at Kagura, trying to make eye contact with her. Shouyou sat beside her in a semi-protective fashion, chatting her up. "Shouyou's gonna slaughter you if he sees you ogling his girlfriend."

"I'd love to see that." Gingitsune snickered. Miroku looked at her.

"Don't you see the problem in this?"

"...No, not really." She shrugged. "Truthfully, I find it amusing. I'd like to see what Kagura will do." Miroku sighed wearily, anime-sweatdropping, and turned to Kirara, who sat quietly, reading a book.

"What about you, Kirara?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I don't doubt she'll flock to Inuyasha once Shouyou annoys or bores her. Then I suppose he'll kill her." There was a silence, and she looked up innocently from her book to see all of them, even Inuyasha, staring at her, mouths agape. "What? I have a gothic side." Inuyasha shivered a little and shook his head.

_Kirara scares_ _me sometimes..._

When the others' attention was diverted, Gingitsune quietly asked Inuyasha, "But seriously, though...would you do that?" He rolled his eyes discreetly.

"Of course not. Under previous circumstances, I wouldn't particularly care, but my brother's made it abundantly clear that I'm supposed to watch my tracks around here." He replied softly.

"Oh..." Gingitsune nodded slowly, then asked, more reluctantly, "Have you...you know...before?"

"Do you want me to lie to you?" He looked her straight in the eye as he said this, and it sent a chill down her spine.

"...Kinda, but I think you just answered my question." She mumbled. Inuyasha chuckled, turning back to look at Kagura.

"Sometimes when I feed, I can get a little...rambunctious. Especially when Sesshoumaru isn't around to regulate my intake. If it does happen, it's usually accidental."

"Oh." She cleared her throat nervously, clasping her shaky hands on her lap. Inuyasha, though he heard the girl's heartbeat going a hundred miles a minute, made no move to comfort her, for the bell had just rung, and Shouyou was forced to leave Kagura, providing Inuyasha the opportunity he needed. He ignored the gargantuan jock who passed by their table, "accidentally" shoving him.

Kagura slung her bag onto her shoulder, her cell phone falling out of her pocket. It would have clattered to the none-too-forgiving floor, had Inuyasha not been there to catch it first. Straightening up and holding the cell phone out to her with a dazzling smile, he asked politely, "I'm sorry, but did you drop this?" She returned his smile with one of her own.

"I did? Oh, I'm so hopelessly clumsy." She accepted it from him, brushing his fingers with her softer ones in a subtle gesture. Inwardly, Inuyasha smirked.

"What class do you have to go to? I could walk you there if you want."

"That's nice, but you don't have to do that." Inuyasha's expression fell slightly.

_What the hell?_

"Ahem...I insist."

"No, that's fine. Besides, I wouldn't want you to be late for your class." Kagura walked around him, calling over her shoulder, "Thanks for catching my cell phone!" Inuyasha stared after her, dumbfounded, and Gingitsune advanced to his side, snickering.

"...What just happened here?"

"Who could really say? C'mon, stud, let's get to class."

"But...she just..." He mumbled, unable to believe it. Gingitsune rolled her eyes, dragging him along. "I had her, though! I know I did!"

"I'm sure you did." Gingitsune nodded patiently, and Inuyasha glared at her.

"I'm serious, Gingitsune, I did!"

"Maybe you did...then maybe she realized she's got a huge boyfriend who could possibly rip you to tiny shreds." Inuyasha snorted at this.

"I _sorely _doubt—" He abruptly halted in his tracks and looked down at his hands, seeing nothing but palm palms. Gingitsune stared strangely at him.

"You okay?" He absently patted his pockets, then dumped out the contents of his backpack, his expression becoming increasingly more worried. "What are you looking for?"

"My journal...I thought I had it with me." He mumbled, biting his lip.

"Maybe you left it in the—" Inuyasha's eyes widened and he dashed back into the cafeteria. Gingitsune sighed, gathering Inuyasha's things back into his abandoned bag. "...cafeteria...jeez. That guy and that book." Once things were uncluttered again, she went after Inuyasha, a little startled to see him looking all over the place for the small journal, growling in annoyance when he turned up with nothing.

"This is not fucking funny." He turned a suspicious eye onto her. "Tsune-chan, if you have my journal, don't play with me."

"I don't! When the hell would I have taken it?! And for that matter, _why _the hell would I have taken it?!"

"Why so defensive?!" Inuyasha snapped, and Gingitsune calmed herself down, knowing that nothing would get solved if both of them were squawking at each other.

"Yash, I don't have the journal. Look, the bell's going to ring soon, and you know Harada-sensei's not going to let us in the classroom if we're late. Can't we look for the journal la—"

"No!" He protested, then took a deep breath. "Look, you go to class. I'll risk the tardy, okay?"

"I'm not going in there without you." Gingitsune huffed, crossing her arms. "Please, Inuyasha, just come on!"

"Fuck that. I'm developing suspicions now."

"Ugh—I _told _you, I don't have your—"

"Not about you." He waved her off. "About that big idiot, Shouyou..."

"You think Shouyou took your journal?" Gingitsune blinked, scratching her head. "Inuyasha, _I _can't even read your dainty handwriting. Shouyou can't read _period_. Why would he have taken it?" Inuyasha scowled.

"There's nothing _dainty _about good penmanship, Gingitsune." He grumbled. "Where did the lummox go?" Gingitsune shrugged.

"Heck if I know. He skips class so often, nobody knows where he _should _be, let alone where he actually is." Inuyasha clenched his fists.

"I'm going to give you one more chance, Gingitsune. _Go to class_."

"Are you going?"

"No! I have to find my goddamn journal!"

"Then screw class. I'm with you all the way." Inuyasha gave her a half-smile.

"You'd make a good _nyoubou_." He chuckled.

"A good what?"

"Never mind. Just come on and help me find Shouyou."

"Alright, alright..." Gingitsune groaned, glowering sleepily at him. "You're lucky I'm your friend, or I'd have abandoned you long before now."

"Sure, sure." The two began sniffing the air, sifting through all the different smells for Shouyou's distinctive odor of sweat, grease and rubber.

"Ooh—this way!" Gingitsune grimaced, leading Inuyasha out of the cafeteria and all the way to the gym. The bell rang and she sighed. "Damn...there goes my perfect attendance record."

"Well, you should've stayed back in class instead of wanting to be around me twenty-four seven." Inuyasha smirked.

"Shut up and listen." Gingitsune shushed him, and the sound of distant laughter drifted into their ears. "Hear that?"

"Yeah. Think it could be Shouyou?"

"I'm pretty sure. Sounds like it's coming from outside." The two rushed through the back door leading to the football field, and the laughter got louder and louder, until Inuyasha and Gingitsune were standing beside the bleachers, where Shouyou and a bunch of his jock friends sat.

"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked, and Gingitsune peeked over the bleacher seats. Her face went white when she saw Inuyasha's leather-bound journal in Shouyou's grubby hands.

"Um...promise you won't rampage."

"I promise nothing." He hissed. "He's got my fucking journal, doesn't he?"

"...Maybe..." Gingitsune grabbed Inuyasha's arm to keep him from smashing the bleachers themselves.

"Hehe—oh, and listen to this!" Shouyou guffawed. "After feeding from a very delectable morsel in the elevator, I come to my brother's room, where he says he is not only allowing me my own place to stay, but he's letting me go to school as well! Of course, I'm overjoyed, but he's got a few rules. It doesn't matter; they shouldn't be too hard to follow. School is supposed to start September the eighth...when is September again?" The jocks laughed uproariously, even though Shouyou had several difficulties pronouncing the words Inuyasha used. "What kind of dumb nerd likes school but doesn't even know when September is?!" Inuyasha wrenched his arm out of Gingitsune and leapt onto the bleachers, glaring at the group.

"Hey, look, it's the nerd himself." One of them smirked.

"Give me the fucking book or I'm going to snap your—" A panicked look on Gingitsune's face made him rethink this and with a slightly annoyed sigh, he corrected, "I'm going to hurt you." They looked at each other, before laughing again.

"Yeah? And what if we...don't?" Shouyou mocked, flicking a lighter beneath Inuyasha's journal, its small flame nicking the pages, but only slightly. Inuyasha's eyes flashed with anger and he grabbed Shouyou by the scruff of his shirt, snarling in his face. Both the journal and lighter fell from Shouyou's hands and Gingitsune caught them, giving Inuyasha a smiling thumbs-up. Seeing that his book was in good hands now, Inuyasha threw Shouyou back into the bleachers, denting them.

"Do it again and I'll really fuck you up." He jumped off the seats and onto the ground, about to walk away, but two of the jocks jumped in front of him, the remaining jock snatching the journal from Gingitsune's hands and holding her wrists behind her back. Inuyasha massaged his throbbing temples, wondering whether he should just kill them and hide the bodies or something.

_Nah...then Sesshoumaru would have me relocated. I'm just getting used to this place; I don't feel like leaving just yet._

"Get the hell off me, you muscle-bound freak!" Gingitsune yowled, struggling in the jock's grasp. Shoujou came from out of nowhere and grabbed the journal from his idiotic friend, then, with a manic grin, chucked the journal far off into the distance. Gingitsune gasped in disbelief. Inuyasha's vision misted red and the next hour of his actions were a complete blur...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You know what? This really isn't necessary." Inuyasha sighed, crossing his arms. "And I mean really."

"Stop talking!" The policeman barked through the megaphone, the volume piercing Inuyasha's ears. He was right beside Inuyasha because the vampire was considered extremely dangerous. The fact that he had, not too long ago, effortlessly broken out of his handcuffs didn't help refute their notions much.

"Stop yelling." He grumbled.

"You're going to jail. You know that, right?" The other policeman smirked.

"Jail?" Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah...you know, prison. The slammer. The penitentiary—the correctional institution for criminals like yourself."

"Excuse me? Did you just call me a _criminal_? You know, don't even answer! Where the hell is Gingitsune?!"

"Look, kid, don't annoy me right now, alright?" The man waved him off, and Inuyasha was peeved more than anything.

_Is he fucking kidding me? Did he just call me a __**kid**__?_

"Fuck off, asshole." Inuyasha flipped him the bird, astonishing himself by even remembering the gesture.

"Real mature."

"Move out of the goddamned way!" Inuyasha's ears automatically perked up upon hearing his best friend's voice.

"Tsune-chan!" He beamed, but was dismayed when Gingitsune appeared with Kagome. "What the hell? What's up with _this_?! I thought you were coming to help me!"

"I am, crazy!" Gingitsune huffed, still annoyed by the swarm of policemen blockading her.

"What's the problem, guys?" Kagome asked them with a smile, that ambiguous smile Inuyasha seemed to be so familiar with. The police, apparently fearful all of a sudden, bowed deeply to her.

"Higurashi-sama...we..."

"Okay, whatever. What happened to _you_, Inuyasha?" Inuyasha stared at her.

_What pull does she have?! What makes her so goddamned invincible against everyone?!_

"I, uh...I beat up some guys." He mumbled roughly.

"He rightfully kicked Shouyou's ass because he stole his journal, then had the nerve to chuck it into the woods!" Gingitsune defended. "Shouyou and all his stupid friends deserved the ass-kicking, no matter how severe!" Kagome watched mirthfully as the four jocks were rolled past in gurneys, unable to even groan their pain due to the unconsciousness.

"Okay. Akira, Kenichirou, I think it would be in your best interests to just...let this one go. I believe Inuyasha's actions were purely in self-defense; he doesn't go around beating people up for nothing. I mean...would _you _just let a bunch of idiots get away with making a fool of you?"

"No, Higurashi-sama...you're right...we'll let him go." The two policemen, sweating bullets, nodded profusely, and gave orders for the rest of them to move out.

"Impressive, Kagome." Gingitsune grinned gratefully.

"Thanks. Your guardian will still have to come here, though." Inuyasha snorted; the last time he heard from Sesshoumaru, he was in Switzerland.

"That's not happening anytime soon. He's in Deutschland."

"Oh. Then I guess you can be pardoned this time, but please, do try not to be so aggressive when you're beating people up, hmm?" She smirked, and walked off.

"Man, that was a lucky break, wasn't it?" Gingitsune whistled, but Inuyasha barely heard her, staring after Kagome. When she was gone, he shook his head and looked at her.

"How did you know to go get _her_?"

"My father and hers are in the same business together." The neko shrugged vaguely. "Well, anyway—I'm going to the mall with Kicchan. Wanna come?"

"And end up holding purses? No, thanks." He declined.

_Besides, I want to talk to the wench._

"Okay, then. See ya!" Gingitsune ran off and Inuyasha set his jaw.

"I'm gonna need all the strength I've got to do this..." He grabbed a flask from his bag and began drinking ravenously as he began heading in the direction he saw Kagome go. Inuyasha came to the football field, where Kagome, as well as several other females, were dressed in short pleated skirts and sleeveless shirts, decorated in the school's colors. He sat atop the bleachers, well away from the bloodstains, and watched, unsurprised when Shippou appeared beside him.

"What's up?"

"Hey." Inuyasha grunted.

"Whatcha doin' here?"

"I could ask the same of you."

"I'm here to wait for Kagome. I always walk with her home after school. What about you?"

"I...need to talk to her."

"Oh?" Shippou quirked an eyebrow, mildly suspicious. "About what?"

"You can stop being so wary. I've decided fully not to reveal her existence to anyone. I just...wanted to ask her some things. Nothing to do with her being a halfling."

"Well...if you say so."

"We are the Ohtani Snow Leopards, and we're here to win! There's no way for you to get out of the mess you're in! You should've thought twice before you came! To play the Snow Leopards in this football game! Whoo!" The cheerleaders chirped spiritedly, accompanying their jingle with a synchronized dance.

"They're good." Inuyasha commented idly, his attention mostly on the bouncing body parts. Shippou chuckled, following his line of sight.

"You're a mess, dude. Think you could concentrate on a _guy's _face for long enough to tell me how your day went?"

"It was pretty fucking crappy." Inuyasha scoffed. "Some imbecilic jockstrap stole my goddamn book." Shippou gaped.

"...Wow...honestly...the nerve of some people."

"You're telling me. Then _I'm _the one who gets in trouble for defending my fucking self."

"That sucks." Shippou shook his head. "Well, you won't have to worry about him anymore, right?"

"Not for at least a few months." Inuyasha smirked.

A couple hours later, the practice was over, and Kagome, after having returned from the showers, came up the bleachers, redressed.

"Hi, S—" She looked at Inuyasha, blinking. "Inuyasha? What are you doing here? Are you still in trouble?"

"Ahem...no. Shippou, would you excuse us, please?" Shippou shrugged and with a snap of his fingers, he was gone again. Kagome stared at Inuyasha, sitting beside him.

"How do you know about Shippou?"

"Honestly, don't play stupid. You know what I am. But I only know that you're a halfling. There's got to be something else to you that I'm not seeing. So I'm here to find out what that is." Inuyasha was sure Kagome would've gone pale, had she not been so completely composed, as well as already pale.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said evenly. "Sure, my mother's a vampire, but my father is as well. I'm certainly no halfling."

"Why must you be so far in denial, girl? I already know what you are, so you can admit it to me. I'm not going to tell anyone."

"I repeat: I don't know what you're talking about."

"Alright, fine." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Deny it. I don't care. At least tell me how you're able to be feared so easily, in spite of what you are."

"I'm not "easily feared". I'm really not feared at all." She got up, signaling that she wanted to terminate the conclusion.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!" Inuyasha spluttered, standing as well and following her as she headed down the bleachers and into the streets. "That doesn't make sense. You say you're not half-human; you say you have no position of power—that's completely impossible. There's got to be something about you!" Kagome's sudden stop and 180 turn made him bump into her.

"There's nothing." She said, softly yet sharply. "If you want to continue analyzing my entire life, as I know you've been doing, then by all means, proceed, but you won't find anything worthy of noting. So I sorely suggest you quit while you're ahead, lest you stumble upon something you'll wish you hadn't." Her words shocked Inuyasha.

_What the hell is that supposed to mean? If she wanted to say "leave me alone," that's all she had to say, not spout all that equivocal bullshit..._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: I don't want to say that these chapters are rolling out like crappy assembly-line toys, because it might jinx the flow, but..._gosh_, these things are moving.

Blood Rain: (glares) Dude, shut _up_. I bet you just jinxed the goddamn flow!

Black Ice: Ignoring Rain! Um, we're currently at a loss for ideas, so we want y'all to help us out.

Blood Rain: That's right! Give us your most unique idea, but nothing cliche, like...rich/poor romance or anything centrally high school based. We want the crazy and strange, like...Kagome's soul has been forced to live in the body of a cat or something, a cat that Inuyasha finds!

Black Ice: ...Actually, that idea doesn't sound half bad, dude.

Blood Rain: sighs Gee, thanks.

Black Ice: You may have noticed the lack of parentheses there. Yes, it's true. We've gotten lazy.

Blood Rain: Yeah, but you'll be able to tell what's going on anyway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Today's Rant: STOP SHOWING INUYASHA SO DAMN MUCH!

Black Ice: Man...Adult Swim is fucking up. For real. I'm sure everybody remembers how Lupin the Third, Case Closed, Super Milk Chan, and Cartoon Planet used to come on real early in the morning...'bout five, right? Well, lately, there's been an overabundance of Inuyasha airing. I know, I know, everybody's all, "I would think you'd love that, seeing as Inuyasha is the only fanfiction you write." Correction, people: Inuyasha is the only fanfiction I know so well. Okay? It was my first anime. I can't stand watching it now, and I wish I knew why, but I don't, and worse yet, I don't care. Point is: goddamn it, AS, either get some different anime or bring back the oldies! I'm sick of seeing Inuyasha so fucking much on the TV guide, when I wanna see some Milk Chan or Cartoon Planet! God!

And Frisky Dingo sucks shit, too!


	11. Houjou

_September 29_

_I had Kagura in my bed within only a week of Shouyou's "accident". Strangely enough, I expected no less, but the lust with which she met my eyes from then on didn't bring me the immense satisfaction I did expect. Not even the_ _act itself was as great as I wanted it to be, but this was no fault of Kagura's or my own._

_It was the wench's._

_My curiosity about her was becoming a near obsession, and every time I saw her, my consternation that Shippou's presumptions were true only intensified._ _I couldn't help my interest by this point: I wanted to know everything about her, and I wouldn't rest until I did._

_Much to my dissatisfaction, Shippou offered absolutely __**no **__help on the matter._

"Inuyasha, I told you, it's not my place to tell you about Kagome's father." Shippou sighed, annoyed as Inuyasha demanded for the fourteenth time that the kitsune tell him everything he knew about Kagome. "What's with this sudden interest anyway? I thought you hated Kagome."

"...I do." Inuyasha sniffed, tearing a chunk out of a piece of steak, garnished nicely with garlic.

_I don't know where humans got that silly notion about vampires and garlic from. I like that stuff._

"But you know what they say: keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"So you consider her an enemy." Shippou concluded dryly.

"Well...not so much an _enemy_, but more of a rival. So help me out, you little weasel, before I stuff a clove of garlic down your throat!" He grimaced in disgust. Garlic didn't kill him, but Shippou just hated the smell and taste of it. It sickened him.

"Sorry, Inuyasha." He shook his head, taking a swig from a glass of wine. "You'll have to ask Kagome herself."

"Don't you think I've been trying?!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Maybe the fact that she knows you hate her is attributing to her reticence." Inuyasha thought a moment, then came up with an idea.

"Thanks, Shippou!" He grinned, finishing off his steak and grabbing his backpack before dashing out of the apartment. He knocked on his neighbor's door, hoping Miroku and Kagome hadn't already left for school yet, and waited. A muscular man, dressed in a simple white suit and hat, answered the door, his face expressionless. Inuyasha blinked.

_This must be her father..._

"Hello, sir...ah, you must be Kagome's father. It's nice to meet you." He smiled calmly, holding out a hand for the man to shake. He nodded and accepted the handshake.

"I don't think I've heard about you before."

"My name's Inuyasha. I go to school with Miroku and Kagome."

"I see...well, Miroku's gone already, but Kagome should be right out. I would stay and chat a little, but I've got to go to work. It was nice meeting you, Inuyasha." He mirrored Inuyasha's smile, and the younger man respectfully moved out of his way.

_I think I like that guy._

Inuyasha went into the apartment, looking around appreciatively. It was just as nice as, if not nicer than, his own. He took a deep breath, readying himself.

_I'm going to have to sacrifice my pride for this one...I'm going to hate it, but it'll all be worth it once I get her to tell me everything._

Kagome walked slowly out of one of the back rooms, her long hair curtaining her face. "What are you doing here?" She sighed, sounding wearier than normal.

"I'm here to accompany you to school." He mustered up his most believable smile, and Kagome looked at him.

"Why?"

"Hey, why so suspicious?" Inuyasha shrugged. "I just figured you'd want to be accompanied to school."

"Well, I don't. So fuck off." She said curtly, moving past him and out of the door. Inuyasha's eyebrows raised in an expression of cool surprise.

_Today should be interesting._

He followed behind her, saying, "Whoa, what's with the hostility?"

"I don't feel like your bullshit today, Inuyasha, okay? Can you please just leave me alone?" His face scrunched up in confusion, until the discreet scent of pheromones, one he'd recognized since puberty, his _seishunki _phase.

_Uh-oh._

He bit his lip and ran up to her side. "Listen, I'd just like to..._apologize_." Inuyasha actually had to choke out the word. "For my, uh, unjustified dislike of you. Initially, of course, but now, I see that you're not as bad as I first supposed."

"Really, now." Kagome scoffed, shaking her head. "You call that dislike? Be honest, now."

"...Okay, hate." Inuyasha grudgingly admitted.

"That's better."

"But I'm trying to apologize now."

"How do you apologize for hate? You obviously don't think I remember how you nearly let me _die _a while back just because you couldn't stand me." Inuyasha winced at how harsh she sounded.

"Yeah, but...you're alive, now, right?" He tried to smile. Kagome glared at him, brushing her hair out of her face, and Inuyasha saw that she looked sallow and ill, the same as she did when he'd first met her.

"Barely." She spat.

"Are you okay? You look...well...sick." Inuyasha pointed out.

"Gee, really?" Kagome geared up to sneeze, and he pinched her nose shut to deter it. He let go and she sniffed. "Thanks." A second later, she sneezed anyway.

"Uh...bless you." He mumbled.

"You can stop sucking up now. I don't care how nice you pretend to be to me—I'm not telling you anything about me."

"Why not?!"

"Why the sudden interest? God knows you sure weren't this interested in me a couple months ago! When you—oh, yeah, what was that little incident? Oh, right—nearly let me _die_!"

"Hey, I apologized for that, damn it!" Kagome stared incredulously at him.

"You...you don't get it, do you? You just don't. To say you're so intelligent, you're such a fucking idiot." Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, but Kagome continued on her way to school.

"...Keh." He scoffed, shaking his head. "At least she acknowledged that I'm smarter than her." But even as he kept moving, his thoughts were on a different track.

_But why am I an idiot? That doesn't make sense. And furthermore, what's with_ _how sick she looks now?_

"Hey!" He looked behind him and saw Gingitsune running up to him with a smile. Momentarily distracted by her breasts, he had to shake himself out of the trance to speak to her.

"What's up? I thought you had already left for school."

"Yeah...no." She grinned. "I got up super late this morning. Was that Kagome I just saw?"

"Yes." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Would I be mistaken in assuming that you two were actually _conversing_? Like normal people?"

"If you could call _that _normal, but generally, no."

"Well, that's good." She smiled, and Inuyasha smirked at her.

"I don't suppose you might be _jealous_, now, are you?"

"Of what?" Gingitsune snorted with laughter.

"I don't know...you tell me."

"Well, first off, I doubt there's anything to be jealous of. And second, if you're beginning to like Kagome, that's your business and not mine."

"...So in other words, you're jealous."

"Wh—?!"

"HA! I so knew it!" Inuyasha cackled, and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her flush against his body. "Hey, you don't have to worry about me liking her. That'll never happen. So don't be so jealous, okay?" He murmured softly against her neck, tracing his tongue along her jawline. Her face pink with embarrassment, Gingitsune shoved him off of her, wiping her face with a deathly glare at him.

"Do that again, and I'll snap your fingers off."

"Fingers, huh? Actually, that reminds me...remember a few days ago, when we were in study hall? I seem to recall a certain cat woman biting my fingers." Gingitsune thought for a moment, then laughed nervously when she remembered.

"Uh...that was just reflex...you know?"

"Oh, I do know." Inuyasha nodded idly, holding his fingers out in front of him for both of them to survey the small bite marks still adorning them. "But you see, I also know that you, um...drew blood."

"...I did?"

"Yes. You did. So don't you think it would only be just for me to...return the favor?" He grinned languidly at her, revealing several of his sharp teeth. The sight sent a shiver down Gingitsune's spine, but she was unsure whether it was fear or lust, or even some bizarre combination of both.

"Um...no..."

"And why not? I'm supposed to just let you get away with biting my fingers like you did?"

"...Yeah..."

"I don't think so." Inuyasha chuckled darkly. "Come on, now, Gingitsune. You act as if I'm going to hurt you. Don't you trust me?"

"...Minimally."

"I won't hurt you as badly as all that. I swear." He held up both hands to show that he was being honest, and not even he would break such an oath. Gingitsune bit her lip fearfully, then squeezed her eyes shut, holding out her hand to him. Inuyasha cracked a smile at how badly she shook, before plugging his incisors into her flesh, just deeply enough to draw a small amount of blood. He licked up the speck from her fingers and left her hand alone. After a few moments, Gingitsune finally opened her eyes, albeit reluctantly, and looked at her fingers, blowing a relieved sigh upon seeing that the tiny wound was already clotting itself.

"See?" Inuyasha laughed, shaking his head. "You're just a little paranoid schizophrenic, aren't you?"

"I guess so." She laughed a little at herself as well.

"You should've trusted me." Inuyasha's bottom lip poked out a little. "That hurt my feelings that you thought I'd actually hurt you. I mean...I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Tsune-chan. "

"Obviously, or Hakuseki wouldn't be in the infirmary right now." Gingitsune grinned, referring to the jock that had grabbed her.

"I never did like that guy." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Now who's jealous?" Gingitsune elbowed him playfully in the side, and the two laughed together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Today we're going to play a spot of volleyball." Aikawa-san announced, a mischievous air about her that made Inuyasha a mite suspicious. "But it's not going to be picking teams today."

_Should've known. _Inuyasha thought dourly, knowing somehow that he and Gingitsune wouldn't be on the same team today. In this class, he was always picked team captain, and Kagome on the opposing side, and he always picked Gingitsune first. The two looked grimly at each other.

"This week, we're going to do a Battle of the Sexes theme. Girls on one team, boys on the other. Let's go!" She blew her whistle and walked away, while Inuyasha groaned.

"This sucks!" He grumbled.

"What, pissed you won't be able to grab my butt in this game?"

"...Yes, actually." Gingitsune rolled her eyes, and looked over at the bleachers, where Kagome laid, looking sick. Inuyasha looked at her as well. "Was Kagome feeling bad like that when you talked to her earlier?"

"Yes, she was. I don't know what's wrong with her, but I think she's menstruating."

"Oh, that is so damn typical!" Gingitsune huffed in annoyance. "Typical man! As soon as a girl's not feeling well, he wants to jump straight to the period!"

"What? No, Gingitsune, I mean, I think that makes her sick or something."

"...Oh. How do you mean?" She blinked.

"When I first met her, this was the way she acted. Is that normal for a girl?"

"Honestly, not really. How sick was she last time?"

"I had to take her to the hospital."

"No, that's _definitely _not normal."

"I'm not sure, but it might be to do with the fact that she's a you-know-what."

"Gingitsune!" One of the girls called and Gingitsune looked at her, then back at Inuyasha.

"Go ahead. We can talk later." Inuyasha allowed, and she dashed off. One of the boys, a wolf demon named Kouga, nudged Inuyasha with a grin.

"You and Gingitsune, huh?" Inuyasha smirked.

"Not yet, but I'm getting there." He bragged. The other boys laughed, and Aikawa-san blew her whistle again, signaling for everyone to get into position. The ball was thrown to Inuyasha and just before he could spike the ball over the net, the double doors opened and a lanky boy walked in. Everyone looked at him as he passed the bleachers, went around the volleyball court boundaries, and approached Aikawa-san.

"Is this Physical Education II?" He asked, his voice low and serious.

"Yes, it is. Are you new?" The boy nodded.

"My name is Nakayama Houjou."

"Well, I'll be your teacher, Aikawa-san, and I'm very pleased to have you in my class." She smiled, but Houjou did not. "If you want to, you could join the game, or you could just sit on the bleachers."

"I'll join the game."

"Okay. It's boys against girls, so that means you're on Inuyasha's team." His sapphire eyes met Inuyasha's, and the young vampire found that he immediately mistrusted this Houjou. Nevertheless, he waved hello and gestured for him to move to the back. With a nod, Houjou obeyed, and took up a spot at the back.

"Alright, let's start this game!" Inuyasha tossed the ball into the air, then knocked it over the fence with his fists. One of the girls parried the spike, sending it all the way to the back.

"Houjou, that's you!" Inuyasha called, but there had been no need; the solemn boy had seen it coming from a mile away and struck the volleyball so hard, it flew off of the school grounds and into the street several blocks away. The other students slowly turned to stare at Houjou, whose expression was unchanging, even as he formally apologized.

"I guess I don't know my own strength." He murmured. Kouga groaned under his breath.

"Great. As is the norm, the new guy's gotta fuck it up for everybody." He grumbled, and Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

"No worries, children, there are more volleyballs." Aikawa-san called, rolling her eyes.

"Allow me to get it. It's only right I do so after having wasted the first ball." Houjou suggested.

"Of course, Houjou. Inuyasha, could you show him where they are?"

"...Sure." Inuyasha cleared his throat, and led Houjou to the supply room all the way in the back.

"New, huh?" He said casually, in an attempt to make conversation. Houjou nodded shortly. "Like it here?"

"It's okay."

"Used to school?"

"Not exactly. I used to live in the mountains, so I'm not used to Muroran at all."

"Yeah, I wasn't either when I first came here. I used to live in Akaigawa-mura." Inuyasha dug through the many deflated and otherwise defective sports equipment in search of a volleyball, so he didn't notice the look Houjou gave him.

"Did you, now? I'm vaguely familiar with that village, but I'm fairly certain such a close-minded society wouldn't've allowed someone like you living around them." Inuyasha paused in his search to glance in offense up at Houjou. "I meant no offense."

"You...make it sound as though you know what I am. Do you?" Houjou took a few moments to reply.

"Did you actually live _in _the village, or merely on the outskirts? I was just wondering, because you look like the type to be easily banished from civilization for...oh, I don't know. A lack of control, perhaps." Inuyasha stood up straight and faced Houjou with a scowl.

"I don't think I like you much, you presumptuous wart."

"I didn't mean to presume anything." Houjou held up his hands, smiling slightly. Inuyasha mistrusted that smile as well. "Forgive me." Inuyasha stared at him for a moment, analyzing his blank eyes, then grunted.

"What are you, anyway?" He continued his search for a volleyball, but remained on his guard, not trusting Houjou enough to turn his back to him for too long. "A demon? Some kind of other creature, perhaps?"

"I'm simply who I am, Inuyasha." His face hidden by the shadows of the closet, Inuyasha let himself grimace. Houjou said his name as though they'd known each other long before now, and he was "fairly certain" he'd _never _known this asshole, even before he was reborn.

"Simply who you are, huh? I guess that's all any of us can ever claim to be." Inuyasha philosophized, and pulled a white volleyball from the clutter. "Here. Take that." As they left the storage room, Houjou took it upon himself to apologize once more.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, Inuyasha. Sometimes I tend to get ahead of myself. It's why I've been banned from my home and sent here."

"...Well...it's okay, I suppose." Inuyasha mumbled, scratching his head awkwardly. "Just try not to do it too much. I have somewhat of a short temper."

"What a coincidence." Houjou's lips spread into a wide smile, one bigger than Inuyasha would've liked. "So do I."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: And once more do we incorporate a badass Houjou into a story! Didja love it?!

Blood Rain: I sure did.

Black Ice: (glares) You _wrote _it.

Blood Rain: Oh...that explains it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Today's Rant: Well...This One Doesn't Really Make Much Sense, But It's About Those Old Barbie Doll Commercials Where, Back In The Days That American Idol Was New, They Used To Say "Dolls Don't Move On Their Own"

Blood Rain: Told you it wouldn't make sense. I don't know if anybody really remembers, but back in the earlier part of the decade, when American Idol was new and the toy industries were having a field day with the concept, there was a Barbie Commercial where they had the toys walking down the runway by themselves. I mean, there obviously had to have been a hand moving it or something, but it was rubbed out of the commercial.

_Anyway_, they were saying "Dolls don't move on their own," and I got a nice chuckle out of that, because they'd been saying that since the turn of the millennium. Well, I didn't know it would be the last time I'd ever laugh at such stupidity, because that was the last commercial they ever aired where they said that. From then on, they were always showing the little girls playing with them, so they didn't need to say the dolls didn't move on their own. I guess they just thought people would think they were falsely advertising. (Sighs) People are so stupid.

Okay, I'm done. (Mutters) Like anybody even really reads this crap...


	12. Lust

_I don't trust that Houjou for anything. He's much too fishy to be left alone. And he didn't help his situation any by ogling Gingitsune. I really didn't like that._

"Inuyasha, you're such a pessimist." Gingitsune sighed, shaking her head as she bit into her sushi at lunch.

"Pessimist, hell. You didn't see the way that guy was looking at you."

"Are you actually jealous, Inuyasha?" Miroku grinned.

"No. There's a difference between jealousy and suspicion." Inuyasha huffed.

"I agree." Kirara concurred softly. "I get a bad vibe from him as well. I have third period English II with him, and he answered everything right, even though it was his first day. He never smiles or anything."

"Thanks, Kirara. I can always count to you to be on my side." Inuyasha smiled gratefully, leaning on her shoulder. She chuckled.

"Only when I think you're right."

"Hi, Inuyasha!" Kagura beamed at Inuyasha as she passed by their table, and he mumbled an awkward, half-hearted reply.

"Wow. What's with _that_?" Miroku blinked.

"Man...I fucked Kagura, like, _days _ago, and she won't leave me alone. I think she thinks we're dating or something." Inuyasha shook his head.

"I thought it was just a one-night stand, though."

"It was intended to be, but she's been being weird around me. I don't get her."

"See? That's what happens when you go around screwing random broads." Gingitsune whistled.

"Not to me." Miroku said innocently.

"But Miroku, you're a virgin." Kirara smiled sweetly, and Gingitsune and Inuyasha looked at each other before bursting out into hysterical laughter.

"AM NOT!" Miroku spluttered, his face cherry red.

"Nice one, Kicchan." Gingitsune grinned. Once his laughter had subsided, Inuyasha took out his journal and stared at it for a long while, knowing he had _something _else to write in it.

"Dude, you must be fucking that book or something." Miroku commented. Inuyasha looked at him weirdly.

"What kind of thing is that to say? That was a stupid figure of speech, Miroku. Not one of your better expressions." He shook his head.

"Well, I'm just saying, you protect that thing like a girl."

"Are you implying that I protect it as if _it _were a girl, or that I have a feminine manner of protectiveness?" Inuyasha drawled evenly, quirking an eyebrow.

"...The first one..."

"That's what I thought." His eyes flickered over to Kagura's table, where Kagome usually sat, but not today. He absently wondered where she was. "Miroku, what's wrong with your cousin today?"

"Oh, she's—wait, why do you care? I thought you hated her."

"I do." Inuyasha defended smoothly. "I'm only conducting a little experiment to find out just why." This seemed to relieve Miroku.

"Oh. Well, let me know what you find; I've been dying to know, myself."

"I think that's very mature of you, Inuyasha, to attempt to overcome your inexplicable dislike of Kagome." Kirara commented in her gentle voice.

"Thanks." Inuyasha grinned proudly.

"In fact, you may even soon find yourself straddled with a feeling a little stronger than like." She added, and Inuyasha groaned.

"God forbid!"

"Kicchan, are you psychic or something?" Gingitsune frowned slightly.

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. Just something about the way you say things sometimes, I guess. Like you already know it's going to happen. Like, remember, when you said Inuyasha might kill Kagura?"

"Whoa, whoa, you see her sitting right there!" Inuyasha spluttered in defense of himself. "You make me sound like some Jack the Ripper type of bastard!"

"I'm just saying, you—" Gingitsune shook her head and terminated the conversation like that. Eventually, Kirara's attention strayed back to her book, and Miroku just left the table in pursuit of some pretty girl. "You said it yourself." Gingitsune whispered in an undertone, but Inuyasha heard well. "Sometimes, you get a little...impatient, and you can't control yourself. Who's to say that won't happen with Kagura?"

"It won't." Inuyasha said, firmly but quietly. "My brother would flay me alive if I did some shit like that." He cleared his throat and said louder, "But anyway, it's not as though psychics—real ones anyway—aren't unheard of." Kirara looked dryly up at him.

"You're still on that? I thought Tsune-chan ended that."

"I'm still actually curious about it." Gingitsune shrugged boredly.

"Yeah. I knew a psychic one time." Inuyasha announced proudly.

"Yeah? What happened to them?"

"...He got lynched." Inuyasha mumbled with a sheepish grin. Kirara chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh, come on, though! That was a primitive thing! It's okay if you are; we won't blackball you or anything. Promise." Kirara turned her sarcastic stare onto Gingitsune, who beamed brightly, nodding in agreement to what Inuyasha had said.

"I'm certain you wouldn't if I were, but I'm not, so I see no reason to continue this conversation further." The specific lightness with which these words were spoken let the others know that she was joking, and they chuckled.

"Wouldn't that be some kind of awesome, though, if there were really a psychic among us?" Gingitsune grinned dreamily. "I'd never fail a class..."

"We're talking about psychics, Tsune-chan, not miracle workers." Inuyasha rolled his eyes with a chuckle, and the girl pouted. He idly glanced beyond the entrance to the cafeteria, where he saw Kagome stumbling down the hall, pallid enough to drop dead where she stood.

"I think I'm going to go buy a bottle of water." He got out of his seat.

"Don't bother hurrying back; the bell will be ringing soon." Gingitsune waved him off, and he grabbed his journal before leaving the cafeteria.

"You okay?" He asked the girl slumped against the wall in some oversized hoodie he'd seen once on some boy.

"C-cold..." She stammered, and looked up at him with delirious eyes, her skin a pale blue. Inuyasha stared at her in poorly masked shock, doubting she even knew who she was talking to. He approached her and reluctantly pressed his fingers against her jugular. Dread filled him when he counted her heart rate at only ten beats a minute, irregular even for a vampire's slow-beating heart.

"Come on...I'll take you to the hospital." Inuyasha sighed, startled when she fell unconscious into his arms. He shook his head and carried her out of the building.

An ivory-skinned male peered out of the shadows he lurked in, a curious smile curving his thin lips. "Well, now...this is rather peculiar. Kanna will certainly appreciate this tidbit of information." He began heading back into the cafeteria, perhaps to watch that goddess of a neko some more, then stopped and instead walked out of the building.

"No harm in a little espionage, I'm sure..." Houjou smirked.

Inuyasha had been halfway to the hospital before he realized that it was best Nanako attend to her daughter instead. She was a far more preferable choice than a bunch of guileless ningen who'll either diagnose Kagome with the flu or some other idiotic disease, or send her away with the report that nothing but stressed ailed her. He diverted his pathway for Muroran, having remembered the way, and instinctively knew that even with his inhuman speed, he wouldn't return to school today. He made up a mental note to think up a good lie to tell Gingitsune regarding his whereabouts.

"Why the rush, ten-speed?" Inuyasha refused to be distracted by the kitsune's sudden appearance in the air above his head. "Hey, what's wrong with Kagome?"

"Don't know. Taking her to her mother's house." He grunted, a little peeved that he'd been caught helping the girl he supposedly hated.

_I do hate her, damn it!_

"Oh..." Shippou bit his lip, worried. Vaguely, Inuyasha himself wondered behind the driving force propelling him; not long ago, he would've been squeamish to even touch her, and now he was rushing to her aid? Certainly his interest in her—or rather, his interest in her so closely guarded secrets—couldn't be _that _intense...could it?

_No_, he reasoned mentally, _it's not. This is all just because everyone_ _will hate me if I let her die as if she were a stray dog. Even a half-breed deserves a moderately better death than that._ _Besides, even in the days of my humanity, I was like this; I can't just let someone die as long as I can prevent it. There's nothing else to it._

"It's unusually nice of you to help her like this." His smile belied suspicion, and Inuyasha sighed in annoyance.

"Why is it that every time I do something even _remotely _uncharacteristic, everybody wants to call the damn SWAT team?" He huffed, using a phrase he'd once heard Gingitsune say.

"Because it's just...not normal." Shippou shrugged.

"Well, ex-_cuse _me for being abnormal!" Inuyasha mocked.

"Why _are _you doing this, anyway?"

"Would you rather I just drop her off here and leave her for dead? Because that can definitely be arranged!"

"Of course not! I-I just thought—"

"What? That I had begun _liking _her or something? Well, think again. I mainly just don't want Gingitsune, Nanako and Kirara to think me a heartless brute or something, that's all." He justified with a scoff.

"Um...okay..." Shippou mumbled. "Don't have to get all defensive, you know."

"I'm not being defensive." Inuyasha replied calmly, knowing he would only contradict himself by expressing his irritation. "I'm just being clear."

"Alright, alright, I got it." Shippou sighed. "I was hoping you'd changed your mind."

"Well, stop hoping." Inuyasha said curtly.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This isn't good." Nanako remarked, looking over her daughter's supine form as she lay on the couch Inuyasha recalled sleeping on. After removing the oversized hoodie, she had given Kagome a big dose of something Inuyasha would rather not smell anymore to keep her temperature up. "This is very not good. I'm so glad you brought her here before this got worse, Inuyasha." Inuyasha grunted in acknowledgment.

"What's wrong with her?"

"...Well...it's hard to say, really." Nanako bit her lip.

"Does it have to do with the fact that she's half-human?" The older woman froze and looked up at Inuyasha with something akin to fear in her impassive eyes. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Inuyasha promised.

"Swear it on your life." She said suddenly, standing straight up. "Do you know what they do to hanketsuki?"

"Of course I know. They kill them." Inuyasha shrugged. "And normally, I would've told already, b—" His statement was cut dramatically short when Nanako clasped him tightly by the throat, shaking him slowly, her expression promising a slow and tortuous death.

"_Swear it on your life_." She growled.

"I—swear!" Inuyasha gasped, and grunted when he was abruptly dropped on his posterior with a thump. "...I was saying...I would've told already—and I haven't! And I won't! I didn't tell because I didn't want you to think I was some kind of asshole who kills and snitches just for the fun of it!"

"Okay, well...sorry for the rough handling, but Kagome's my one and only daughter. I couldn't bear to lose her." Inuyasha tenderly rubbed his sore neck, wincing at the slightest touch.

"I guess I understand..." He mumbled hoarsely, sitting up from the ground and trying to regain his single vision. All of a sudden, the wind was knocked out of him, courtesy of a flailing arm belonging to the explosively thrashing Kagome.

"Uh-oh. She's rebelling against the medicine! Shippou, hold her arms—I'll be right back." Nanako dashed into Kagome's room, while Shippou grabbed Kagome's wrists and the dazed Inuyasha groaned, blinking furiously.

"Two onions, please...hold the burger..." He mumbled, then shook his head, glaring at Kagome. "Jeez! Control that thing, would you, Shippou?!"

"Oh, _sure_, Inuyasha!" He drawled sarcastically. "I was just about to get her leash!" Nanako came back and picked Kagome up. Shippou and Inuyasha followed her into Kagome's room, where she put the convulsing girl onto her bed, holding her legs still.

"Shippou, restrain her arms with those manacles at the head of the bed." She ordered, and Shippou dutifully obeyed. Inuyasha stared, fascinated, as Nanako fettered Kagome's ankles, as if she truly were an animal. She raged and snarled in protest, trying her damnedest to escape her bindings. "Inuyasha, make sure she doesn't get loose. She should tire herself out in an hour or so."

"Yeah...wait, what?!" He shook his head, looking over at her. "Where are _you _going?!"

"There's a treatment for Kagome's illness that should force her into submission for a few days. Shippou and I are going to get it. We need you to watch over Kagome."

"Why me?! Why can't I go with you for the medicine?!"

"It's a secretive thing, Inuyasha."

"What am I, untrustworthy or something?!"

"Just please do this for me, Inuyasha. Please?" Nanako gave him a pleading look, and Inuyasha sighed, rubbing his temples.

"_Fine_. But you owe me, big time." He crossed his arms childishly, and Nanako beamed brightly, embracing him for a brief moment before she and Shippou left the room. Inuyasha's ears twitched upon hearing the sound of deadbolts shutting on the other side. "Ain't _that _about a bitch..." He grumbled under his breath, repeating yet another phrase of Gingitsune's, and looked at Kagome, who had begun to glow a faint black.

_Peculiar...could this be one of her secrets? _He rubbed his hands together with a smirk. _This should be fun_. His thoughts took an entirely different tone when the intensified smell of pheromones began to fill the room like a noxious gas. His heart began to speed up as his body reacted naturally to the aphrodisiacal scent, but he forced himself to try and ignore it. _Nanako was wrong—it looks like she's tiring herself out now._

It was true; Kagome's threshing about had minimized considerably, but the black glow hadn't. In fact, it seemed to be getting stronger and stronger, as did the pheromone discharge. The halfling's clothing stuck to her with the sweat of her skin, accentuating curves that Inuyasha had previously failed to notice in his repulsion of her. Now he himself began to break out in a cold sweat, feeling his pants constrict certain parts of his lower body. This inexplicable attraction grew more powerful as he noticed the taint of her human blood diminishing, being overcome by her vampire blood. Inuyasha's sexual instinct was stirring, and for once, he didn't want it to. Eyes still transfixed onto her incandescing body, he stepped away, trying the doorknob as hard as he could.

_Damn! Locked! _He panicked, and out of the blue, Nanako's words, unbidden, echoed in his head.

"_All right, all right! I swear not to feed from __**Kagome**__."_

"_Now remember this promise, because the moment you break it, I'm slitting your neck."_

_Where the hell did __**that **__come from?! _He didn't have much time to ponder this, as the black light faded from Kagome's body, and her eyes leapt open, revealing, instead of her normally brown eyes, a pair of scintillating platinum blacks. She stared at the ceiling for an indeterminable amount of time, then looked at her bound ankles and wrists.

"What the hell?" She quirked a sharp eyebrow, her voice now an alto instead of the soprano tone Inuyasha had become accustomed to. His jaw actually dropped at the caressing sound.

_...Holy hell...she sounds even sexier than her mother!_

She easily broke free of the constraints and swung her legs over the bed, stretching her limbs. Inuyasha reluctantly looked away from her breasts, which seemed to have gotten plumper than before, but when he turned back, his already pale face went even paler to see that she had stripped to nothing. Kagome sneered at his slack-jawed expression, flipping her platinum-blonde hair out of her flawless face.

"What's wrong, boy? Never seen a woman before?" She taunted. Inuyasha's initial instinct was to snap back that, yes, he had seen a woman before—several, in fact—and all of them sexier than her, but he was unable to convert it into audible speech, especially considering the fact that she had pressed her nude self against his rigid form, looking him over. "From the looks of you, you're probably a virgin." Outraged, Inuyasha was about to retort, but he found himself flying into the wall when she flippantly pushed him aside to test the door. "Hm. Locked."

"Hey, damn it, you're sick! Get back into bed!" Inuyasha finally managed to splutter, but the words had none of the desired authoritative effect. Kagome only ignored him, and yanked on the doorknob until the entire door broke from his hinges, still attached to the knob in Kagome's white hands. Inuyasha stared, awed.

_Well...we know she's got her mother's strength._

"Whoa, wait, where you are going?!" Inuyasha obstructed her path to the front door. "What the hell are you, five?! You can't just go jaywalking in public!"

"Well, _forgive _me, o Master." Kagome snorted sarcastically. "I was just looking for a means of bathing. I stink like a dead otter."

_Not so much a stink as a pungent scent... _It was true. Kagome's arousing natural fragrance was actually painful to be around. She took his daze for attention and went on, "It's been a good month or so since I last came here, so I'm a little lost."

"Yeah, well...down the hall to the right." Inuyasha mumbled.

"Thanks, kid—you're a real doll." She grinned, and walked away. Inuyasha's eyes were glued to her naturally swaying figure until she disappeared into the bathroom, his hands literally itching with the desire to palm that wonderfully sculpted ass...

He shuddered, suddenly feeling a mite chilly, and looked up at the wall clock. 3:14. Gingitsune was no doubt suffering in fifth period, anticipating the ringing of the bell more than half an hour away.

_I wonder if Nanako would mind me using her phone._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: Okay, so here it is! Finally, that long-awaited attraction that everyone's been...well..._waiting for_!

Blood Rain: ...

Black Ice: (quirks eyebrow) What's _your _problem?

Blood Rain: (sighs) I'm sad.

Black Ice: ...Okay. Now can we get an answer that's _not _vague?

Blood Rain: (slumps away, still sad)

Black Ice: Wanna know why Rain's sad? I sure as hell do. Maybe she'll tell if you review! ...

Why did that feel like I was on some interactive kid's show just now? --'


	13. Satisfaction

Blood Rain: GUESS WHO'S BACK, MUDDFUCKAZ!!

Black Ice: (grins) She's so happy. Her birthday—well, ours, 'cause we share the same birthday—was today, September 24th, and her friend Candace is becoming her friend again.

Blood Rain: Fuck yeah, baby! I was in a little ol' slump for a while, but don't worry about me, kiddies, 'cause I AM _BACK_! And here to stay, too! (Leans in to whisper) But Black Ice might be on her way.

Black Ice: (glares, but a little weakly) Yeah...she's back alright. Anyway, she did come back for a reason.

Blood Rain: Right, I sure did. Um..this chapter contains quite limey content, and we are not talking Englishmen (sorry! Dirty joke!). So...y'know, kiddies beware. It's actually borderline lemon, but mostly a teaser.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

About an hour and fifteen minute later, once Kagome was no longer sopping wet—that was when Inuyasha thought he'd cream himself—and squared away into some lounging clothes, there came a knock at the door.

"_God_, I hope that's Nanako." Inuyasha whimpered, dutifully tearing his eyes away from Kagome's sleeping form to answer the door. She was positioned much too provocatively to be dreaming anything innocent, and numerous times did Inuyasha have to remind himself of his oath to Nanako.

He answered the door with a cautiously optimistic smile, which fell from his face when he saw Gingitsune smiling back at him.

"Damn!" He swore, and the neko huffed, offended.

"Hey, asshole, you're the one who invited me here."

"No, that's not what I meant, Tsune-chan." Inuyasha amended with a sigh, and they sat on the couch. "I just...I thought you were Nanako."

"Kagome's mother?"

"Yes..."

"If you hate Kagome so much, why haven't you just left her here by herself? She seems like a big girl to me."

"She is, trust me." Inuyasha mumbled absently, and Gingitsune stared at him weirdly. "Gingitsune, listen. She's...not the same. She used to be all..._sickly_. Wan and unattractive. But now...she's almost irresistable!" He revealed in a panicked whisper. Gingitsune laughed.

"Boy, won't Shippou be glad to know he was right."

"That is no longer an important issue, Gingitsune." Inuyasha said firmly. "A while ago, I promised Nanako I wouldn't feed from her."

"...So?"

"With me, feeding is synonymous with _fucking_!"

"Again, I fail to see the problem."

"She is half-human, Gingitsune. If I fuck her, I'll end up losing control and _biting _her. And if I do that, Nanako will kill me!"

"She won't even know." Gingitsune waved him off boredly, flipping on the television. Inuyasha groaned, smacking himself in the forehead and glaring at her.

"For one thing, there will be a distinctive mark on her neck and Nanako will know it was me. For another, the girl is clearly a virgin, and if I deflower her, _Nanako will know it was me_. Get it?"

"I still say you're making something out of nothing, but whatever you say, dude." Gingitsune shrugged. "Where is she?"

"_Asleep_." Inuyasha spat, as if the very word were venomous.

"Ah. And where's her mother and Shippou?"

"Who the hell even _knows_?!" Inuyasha exploded. "This is probably all some dumb-ass plot to set me up with that—that _beast _in there!"

"Beast?" Gingitsune snickered. "But I thought you said she wasn't "_ugly_" anymore."

"I mean sexually."

"..." Gingitsune scratched her head, confused. "Okay, now you got me. I thought you didn't have sex with her."

"I _haven't_, damn it!"

"Hey, don't take your frustrations out on _me_, buttmunch." Gingitsune huffed, crossing her arms. "I'll beat your monkey ass cross-eyed." Inuyasha sighed again, leaning on the girl's shoulder.

"Forgive me, Tsune-chan." He murmured, sounding genuinely apologetic. "I'm just not used to being attracted to two women at once...it would be so much less complicated if it were only you." She pinked a little, but stroked his hair as if he were her child.

"Ah, don't worry. I'm sure that soon, Kagome will be back to normal. Then you can reset your sights solitarily on me." She teased, then gasped lightly when she felt Inuyasha's cool tongue against her warm neck.

"Too late for that." He grinned lustfully at her, that same tantalizing gaze he had given her that day in the alley. However, Gingitsune got the feeling that he was only transferring his lust and sexual frustration from Kagome onto her, and strangely enough, she found that it hurt her feelings.

All of a sudden sheepish, Gingitsune pushed him away, staring sideways to hide the slight pain stretching taut over her felid features.

"Don't...do that, Inuyasha." She mumbled. He blinked at her, brows furrowed in boyish vexation.

"Did I do something wrong?" And she realized that he hadn't even been aware of his emotional transference—it was only subconscious! She initially expected that to make her feel better, but it only had the opposite effect of making her feel worse. He'd been telling the truth when he said he was attracted to them both; Gingitsune had been under the impression that it was another of his offhanded compliments.

"No." She said belatedly, having been too caught up in her thoughts to see he'd been waiting on an answer. "I'm just not feeling great. Royama-san gave us back those tests today and I tanked on it. It's just been on my mind for a while, that's all." Luckily for her, Inuyasha, being an egocentric male, was denser than he let on, or at least, it seemed that way. He laughed mockingly.

"Now _that's _priceless! The great Gingitsune, who brags about being the smartest person in the entire senior class, flunked a math test! HA!" Gingitsune chuckled, at first half-heartedly, but then it gradually got more genuine.

"Don't be so smug, asshole." She grinned. "You did worse than me." Inuyasha actually choked on his laughter and pouted.

"Well, _that _sucks..."

"What's so funny in here?" The tension in the room returned with a vengeance as the two looked at the yawning kyuuketsuki standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Hi, Kagome." Gingitsune waved congenially, despite the sudden wave of jealousy that roared within her. Kagome blinked, startled.

"You..._know_ me?" Then she saw Inuyasha and laughed her new, naturally sultry laugh that made him want to stand at attention. "Oh, _I _get it! You must be dating the boy!" She clapped slowly and sardonically, while Gingitsune's face flared up.

"_What?!_"

"You're his girlfriend, aren't you? If so, I applaud you."

"Of course she's my girlfriend." Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms, and Gingitsune stared at him wildly.

"_WHAT?!_"

"Well, _duh_, Tsune-chan. You're my friend who just happens to be a girl." Inuyasha shook his head, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"_That's _always fun, am I right?" Kagome remarked lazily, plopping on the couch between the two. "So...any idea when my mother is to return? I'd also appreciate knowing who you people are."

"Well, I'm Gingitsune—I'm good friends with your human...or hanketsuki, whichever." Gingitsune smiled. "And I don't know when your mom's supposed to be back."

"Ah...interesting." Kagome smiled languorously, holding out her hand to be shaken. Gingitsune complied, continuing, "And this is Inuyasha, who, I guess, hates you or something."

"So sad." Kagome mock-lamented.

"Yeah, I know. But it's okay, because as far as I know, you hate him too!" Gingitsune beamed, and Kagome chuckled, flipping her hair out of her face.

"I like you, Gingitsune. You're my kind of girl." Inuyasha's jaw dropped and he whimpered a little.

_**Please**_ _don't tell me she prefers females...kinky, but useless to me!_

As if reading his very mind, Kagome said with a small yawn, "Don't worry yourself, boy. Girls are cute and even fun sometimes, but I'd much rather a male." She gazed at him with smouldering eyes that trapped him within their shimmering depths. Gingitsune cleared her throat a bit, feeling extremely third wheel, and said loudly, "Um...so...Kagome, how long are you gonna be a full-blooded vampire?"

"Only for a few days." She shrugged. "Quite suckish, really—it's the reason Mother's trying to pawn me off onto a full-breed, so I won't have to at least _look _human anymore. I do love my father, and if he had even a drop of vampire blood in him, he would be pretty high in the power structure, but it's very unfortunate he was born a human."

"So what does your father do?" Inuyasha asked innocently, and Kagome laughed her sexy laugh again.

"Wouldn't _you _like to know?"

"Jeez, Inuyasha, get off the girl's case." Gingitsune rolled her eyes, and Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hey, damn it, I want to know!"

"And why is that, Inuyasha?" Kagome yawned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that, too." Inuyasha glared at both of them and got up from the couch.

"You know what? I don't have to take this crap. You're awake now, so you can live until Nanako comes back. C'mon, Gingitsune, let's go."

"Why such the overreaction, Inuyasha?"

"Don't say my name." Inuyasha snapped at the pale girl, and Gingitsune shook her head, amused.

"Inuyasha, listen, _you _should stay here. Nanako will be pissed if she comes back and you're not. I, however, need to go home and study my furry tail off." Inuyasha stared in disbelief as she waved goodbye before leaving the apartment.

"Son-of-a..." He shook his head.

Outside the complex, Gingitsune was startled to see the pensive Houjou standing right outside, staring up at the sky.

"Houjou?" She blinked, touching his shoulder. It took a few moments for him to look at her and recognize her.

"Gingitsune. What are you doing here?"

"I just...I was visiting a friend—what are _you _doing here?"

"Same. Well, actually...I think I'm lost." He chuckled in self-deprecation. "Stupid of me, right?"

"Nah." She waved him off. "I do stupid things all the time. Who are you looking for?"

"I think I'm going to go home now, actually."

"Well, okay. You can walk with me if you want." Houjou smiled.

"I would like that." The two began walking, and he surreptitiously admired her shapely form, his thoughts taking a turn for the more perverted...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh, cheer up, sulky boots." Kagome purred, grinning at him as he restlessly paced the room.

"Shut up!" He snarled, desperately wishing to discourage her sexual connotations in everything she said, but to no avail, especially since Gingitsune left.

"Why so pissy? I'm merely trying to cheer you up a little." She looked down curiously at her softly growling stomach.

"Look, bitch, the only reason I'm even here is because I'm trying to get in good with your mother. _That's it. _I don't even need you talking to me."

"...I'm hungry." She said, sitting up straight.

"Yeah? What do you want _me _to do about it?" Inuyasha mumbled, though he knew exactly what this entailed. He didn't know much about half-breeds, but he did know that they had near insatiable hungers for anything—and that meant _anything_—with blood. Suddenly, he was glad he'd sent Gingitsune away. He didn't want her exposed to anything a bloodthirsty Kagome might do.

"I want you to get me some food." She licked her lips, looking around thirstily.

"How about wait until your mom comes back or something? I ain't your babysitter."

"Fine, then I'll get some myself." Kagome bounded for the door, but Inuyasha grabbed her by the back of her shirt and pulled her back, glaring at her.

"I don't think so. I'll be damned if you go on a killing rampage under _my _supervision. Hell no." She hissed at him at first, then her acrid expression morphed into a seductive one. Kagome moved closer to him, moving her finger sensually along the curve of his set jaw.

"Okay...so let me feed from you." She grinned.

"I _really _don't think so." Inuyasha pushed her away from him, but Kagome would not be deterred. Her stomach growled even louder now and she whimpered, staring up at him with cutesy eyes.

"Oh, come on! It won't hurt, and I'm asking you nicely. I have to eat, don't I?"

"Yeah, but must it be now?" Inuyasha was beginning to get nervous from the increasingly predatory gleam in her eye. Even a full-breed, when he got hungry enough, would kill his own kind for sustenance, and not even they could last too long without it. "I mean...when's the last time you ate, anyway?"

"Last month." Inuyasha winced.

_**God**__, I couldn't survive._

"Well...uh...I'm sure Nanako has some raw meat in here or something..." Inuyasha gulped, backing into the kitchen. Kagome followed him, licking her lips hungrily.

"I don't want that."

"I—listen, trust me, I don't have enough blood in me to satiate you!" Inuyasha insisted, and it was true; that didn't mean Kagome wouldn't still get her fill of him, even if it resulted in his death. In a leap reminiscent of the fluid movement of a jaguar, Kagome tackled him to the ground, trying to get at his neck with her razor-sharp fangs.

_Shit! I'm going to have to fight her now!_

Inuyasha grabbed her by the hair and slung her across the kitchen, evoking an animalistic snarl from her. He clambered to his feet, panting and sweating, forced to ignore his unsought erection brought upon by the overpowering scent of Kagome's pheromones. Unfortunately for him, the raging kyuuketsuki caught sight of his unmistakable arousal and smirked deviously.

_...__**Fuck**__._

Inuyasha grunted as he was abruptly backed into the wall, Kagome's chilling yet soft hands stroking his body.

"Then I'll just settle for your body." She breathed, running her fingers down his chest and shuddering emphatically when she touched his throbbing manhood. "No, you're definitely not a virgin." She licked her lips, slower this time than the last, and Inuyasha was powerless to stop his infinite attraction now.

_It's nothing. She's just another female body I can take my satisfaction of, that's all. Personal emotions are not, have never been, and will never be part of this equation. It's just fucking. It's never been more than that._

Spurred by this "impeccable" logic, Inuyasha decided to strive to give this sexy nymph exactly what she wanted: a good-sized chunk of him. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to his body, breathing in her heady scent of horniness and vanilla, a very strange yet somehow arousing combination. Inuyasha slipped his nimble fingers down Kagome's shorts, sucking in a frail breath upon discovering that she was without panties.

_No wonder I'm so horny—she's not wearing any fucking panties!_

His dick protested against its cloth constraints as he lightly massaged her sensitive button, hidden beneath her small foreskin. She moaned, parting her legs wider to allow him better access, and Inuyasha felt her warm juices spilling onto his digits. Kagome pulled off her shorts, impatient, and removed Inuyasha's pants as well, reaching into his Jersey shorts to wrap her hand around his tumescent member. He gave a tight gasp, staring at her with wide, incredulous eyes. In all his years of being a man, absolutely none of the women he had previously fucked had ever touched his bare cock, having need for only _their _pleasure, paying no heed to his except for the act in itself.

Shaking his head of his disbelief and forcing himself to get back to the task at hand, Inuyasha moved his soaking fingers from her folds, audaciously plucking his fingers into her mouth, daring her to lick her own honey. He was extremely turned on when she unhesitatingly began sucking his fingers, staring dead into his eyes as she did so, and he thought the veins in his cock would actually burst, leaving it immobile forevermore. Inuyasha couldn't take it any longer; he had to have her. In a feat of vigour, he lifted her against his hips, supporting her by her posterior, and, by means of gravity and pure lust, his dick slipped into her. Kagome cried out, burying her face into Inuyasha's shoulder as she slammed her palms against the wall lateral to him. Invigorated, he effortlessly bounced her supple body up and down, reveling in her unique tightness. It had been so long since he last had a virgin, he'd actually forgotten there was a barrier to break, and he smashed right through it as if it were nothing more than plastic. Kagome winced, her sense of pain diminished by her intense lust, but palpable nonetheless.

Only few moments after Kagome had been deflowered, Inuyasha bore down as his climax washed over him as though he was stepping off of the surface of the sun and onto the freezing moon. He fought to steady his breath, and looked down from the ceiling at Kagome, feeling sheepish, but relieved to see that she still lusted for him, despite his earliness.

"Sorry..." He grunted, looking away to hide his faint flush. Even still, it was an embarrassing thing for a man like him. "I'm...usually not that fast."

"It's fine. I still liked it. Maybe next time we can finish together, hmm?" She murmured, lightly kissing his pointed ear. Before Inuyasha could dissent that there would be no next time now that he had finally gotten over his lust, a familiar scent hit his nose and filled him with alarm. He quickly pushed Kagome off of him, dragging on his boxers and pants. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Kagome blinked.

"I'm leaving." He said curtly, refastening his pants. "_Your _blood may be staining the floor..." Inuyasha gestured to the blood on the floor from her shattered maidenhead. "But I'll be damned if mine does."

"Hmm. Okay, then. See you later." Kagome waved, not bothering to put her own clothes back on, but instead only gathering them in her arms before leaving the kitchen. Inuyasha gazed lewdly at her rotating backside, then shook his head, angry at himself for some reason. He marched out of the kitchen himself, and soon as he reached the door, it swung open, revealing Nanako and Shippou, bright smiles on their faces.

"We brought sustenance!" Shippou chirped.

"Great. See you later." Inuyasha mumbled, moving past the two and dashing down the hall into the elevator. Shippou stared after him quizzically, then shrugged, closing the door behind him and Nanako. They went into the kitchen to refrigerate the jugs of red liquid, and Shippou sniffed around, scratching his head.

"Smells like...sex and blood." Nanako looked around innocently.

"Really? Hadn't noticed." She smiled lazily.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: Hmm...what's up with _that_?

Blood Rain: And why's Inuyasha pissed at himself?

Black Ice: And why, if he'd "satisfied his lust for Kagome", did he ogle her butt when she left?

Blood Rain: And for that matter, why the hell is he being such an asshole?!

Black Ice: These questions and several more shall be answered in the next...several chapters!

Blood Rain: Whoo! Yay for misleadingness!


	14. Heartbroken

_October 1_

_I can't imagine why, but I feel like things are changing. Normally, I'm all for a healthy dose of change, but in this case, I don't like it. __**At all.**_

_For one thing, Gingitsune has been seeing a lot of that Hobo bastard lately, and she tells me she might actually __**like **__him. God, I can't fucking stand him! I continuously warn Gingitsune that Houjou is no good; that I have a horrible feeling about him, and my horrible feelings usually turn out to be right, but she refuses to listen to me._

_But here's the kicker: I told her this once more yesterday, when she walked home with me and Kirara, and she actually snapped at me about __**Kagome**__. If I'm not mistaken, she said something along the lines of, "Why must you insist on being such a fucking rectal wart about this?! I never said anything about you fucking Kagome in a whirlwind of lust!" Okay. This pissed me off._

"_That's got nothing to do with this." I retorted, my voice low and dangerous. Even Kirara knew to let the subject go when I sounded like this. This was my one and only warning that I might explode. However, Gingitsune, who had been my first female friend, who should've known this better than anyone, ignored the very clear warning and snorted._

"_Oh, bullshit, Inuyasha! That is pure and utter bullshit and you should be stricken down by lightning for even saying it! You're being a moody pussy just because Kagome hasn't said anything to you_ _since __**you fucked her**__, and you're just not used to that. So you're just trying to make her jealous by pretending to give a shit about __**me**__!"_

"_Gingitsune..." I growled, my grasp on my backpack strap tightening. This was rare—a second warning, and only because Gingitsune was such a good friend._

"_Don't take that fucking tone with me, you wishy-washy son-of-a-bitch! You know what, Inuyasha? Piss off!" She yelled, and just walked off. I could do nothing but stare after her, vexed beyond belief. I then looked at Kirara, who shrugged, looking just as bewildered as I._

"_I better go...calm her down." She mumbled, and I nodded, understanding her obligation to her friend. When she was gone, it took me a long time to calm down, and even now, I'm still furious that she would assume such erroneous presumptions._

_So I am not talking to Gingitsune as of now. Well, actually, I've tried to talk to her, but she won't talk to me. She dares not sit within throwing range of me, which causes tension between me, Miroku, and Kirara when I sit with them and she suddenly leaves, without even a sorry excuse to pardon her rudeness. I can't even have a conversation with her nowadays. Miroku and Kirara are still my friends and everything, but I felt a certain closeness with Gingitsune._ _I could talk to her about anything, as well as freely express my admiration of her without fear of consequence (even though I never feared anything anyway, but I'm being figurative). _

_This is something I would never admit in front of anyone, not even myself in the mirror, but I felt empty inside when Gingitsune stomped away from me that day. It was_ _almost as if it signaled her walking out of my life, and that was unacceptable. I absolutely __**had **__to get Gingitsune back as my friend, and soon, or I would lose her to the asshole Houjou._

_There is something I did neglect to mention. You know already that I screwed Kagome, even though I wasn't exactly at optimum performance, but it was fine all the same, though I'd rather never bring it up again. However, I revealed this episode to Gingitsune._

_**All of it.**_

_For a man like me to admit this at all to anyone was something that could never happen, so telling Gingitsune this was big. It burned me that she revealed my secret about fucking Kagome at all, but I was relieved that she hadn't yet seemed to tell anyone about my...prematurity. That proved to me that somewhere, deep inside this cold bitch Gingitsune had become, still rested my Tsune-chan._

_So, anyway. Back to the fact that I fucked Kagome. I did this, as you well know by now, yet once it was over, I acted apathetic in order to prevent her from possibly thinking there might be a relationship in the works for she and I. This happens often, so I had to develop a technique for myself. But what was so weird was how __**she **__seemed not to care much. She didn't even ask if she'd see me again!_

_..._

_Actually, now that I think about it, that would be a stupid question to ask since we do go to school together, but still, you know what I mean. She hasn't once looked my way, and the way she talks to her friends indicates that this blatant disregard was not even deliberate._ _But the fact that she's ignoring me isn't what's infuriating me. What's infuriating me is how she thinks she's turned the tables on me and done what I had planned to do in the first place. That bitch has some audacity! I took her virginity and she doesn't even have the decency to pine after me like a lovesick puppy._

_Yes, I am a sick, twisted person. There's nothing I can do about it._

_There is, however, something I can do about Kagome._

Inuyasha leaned against his door, eyes closed and arms crossed. He was contemplating his day at school with an intense level of fury whipping through his body. He knew he wasn't going to have a good day after first period when he saw Gingitsune and Houjou laughing together, but his breaking point came after school. He had seen the two walking from the football field, smiling and holding hands...just like he used to do with her. The very thought made his insides clench, but to top it all off, he could swear on his very honor that Houjou cut him a sneer, his eyes vindictive and evil.

Inuyasha snarled under his breath as he recalled this, just as Kagome came onto the floor from the elevator. His anger emboldened him, and for no apparent reason, he yanked her by her wrist as soon as she was within reach of him, pulling her close to him. She stared up at him, startled by the sudden movement.

"What the hell?"

"I should ask the same of you." He smirked dangerously, unnerving Kagome with the feral look in his eyes.

"Inuyasha, get off of me..." She cleared her throat, trying to tug away from him, but as a human, she was powerless against him. She knew it, and so did he. He planned to exploit this.

"You sure weren't saying that a few days ago." Kagome's face went red. "Just as I thought. Then why are you avoiding me?"

"Look, I'm no magnet, okay? I don't _cling_. And I believe you made it quite clear that you considered me nothing but a fling, something to get your rocks off on, so let _me _ask _you_—why do you even care?" Inuyasha's smirk fell and he growled. She had caught him off-guard. Inuyasha _hated _that. It was only sexy when Gingitsune did it.

"Keh. Fuck off." He scowled, pushing her away and going into his own apartment, slamming the door behind him. Kagome looked down at her pale arm, made partially red from Inuyasha's grip, and it stung at the lightest touch.

"Freaking maniac..." She mumbled, entering her home.

Inuyasha was furious with himself, so much so that he didn't even bother taking it down in his journal as he lay in his bed, head buried in his pillow with the faint hope of maybe smothering himself. He was behaving like a newborn, for God's sake, and the worst part of it all was that he _knew _it. He had just practically wrung Kagome's arm out of its socket in his anger with Gingitsune, and for what? He might've even raped her just to still his own wrath.

"I'm...a fucking _beast_..." He hissed, his fingers balled into painful fists.

_What the hell is wrong with me? Ever since I came to this place, I've been virtually unable to control_ _my emotions. Usually I wouldn't dare tell Gingitsune I was upset about her preference...This place is screwing me up. _He decided mentally, and his ears, previously deflated, perked up when there came a knock at his front door. He got out of his bed and warily approached the door.

_Kagome might've told her father what I did to her..._

He opened the door swiftly, an explanation on his very tongue, but it died a quick death when he saw that it was Gingitsune, staring pointedly down at the floor. For the first time in a long time in a long time, his heart felt warm and he smiled.

"Tsune-chan."

"I...came to tell you something."

"You don't have to stand outside in the cold for that. You know my house is your house."

"Well, actually...I can't stay." She mumbled, not looking up at him. "I've got a date. With Houjou. In a few minutes. He's waiting outside..." Inuyasha stared at her. In the course of very few days, he had already lost his friend, almost as dear to him as his own manhood.

"Why?" He asked quietly. "Why him and not me?"

"Houjou gives my life some stability, something I haven't had since I met you. And...since you can't seem to choose between me and Kagome, I've decided to do it for you." Too many thoughts were dashing through his head, and his brain was throbbing.

"Whoa, whoa, wait." He shook his head. "You actually want to be with me?" At her slight blush, his jaw dropped. "Oh, damn it, Gingitsune, why the hell didn't you tell me that?! We could've save all this time!"

"Even if I had told you, you hamfisted lummox, you would still lust after Kagome!" She fumed.

"I _wouldn't_, Tsune-chan, and that's just it—I don't want her anymore. You've been the only woman on my mind for the longest time, I swear to you." But this had not been what she wanted to hear. Contrary to Inuyasha's expectations, tears welled up in Gingitsune's eyes and she punched him in the chest. Physically, it barely hurt, but emotionally, she crushed him.

"So that's what this is! In your all-too-typical philandering fashion, you've gotten your rocks off with her, then when she doesn't want you, you came sidling up to _me!_ I'm not sure whether or not I informed you, "_Romeo_"," she drawled angrily, making air quotations that stung Inuyasha to the quick, "but _I_ am not your fucking playtoy, you polygamous bastard. Maybe _Kagome_ will give it up to you on a whim, but I am _not _the one. You had me and you gave me up for a girl who turned the tables on your stunned ass. So guess what, "_friend_"? You can kiss _my _ass!" She turned to leave, but Inuyasha grabbed her wrist in a flurry of desperation, pulling her back.

"Please," he implored hoarsely, at the end of his rope. "I-I _need _you, Tsune-chan. You're my only true friend, and I can't bear to let you go—not like this." She glared at him, still tearful.

"Real friends don't lust after their friends." With a huff of finality, Gingitsune was gone. Inuyasha dropped to his knees, gaping at his open doorway with a mixture of despair and a newer emotion, heartache.

"You truly are a pathetic whelp." Inuyasha ignored his older brother's voice behind him, or either hadn't heard. He was used to Sesshoumaru's enigmatic entrances. "A real kyuuketsuki would never allow a mere female to affect him so dramatically." Inuyasha clenched his fists with a growl.

"She was my _friend_. The one person I could confide in, and my overactive libido made me lose her."

"Sesshoumaru studied the lovesick man, really a boy right then, and said, "You have changed, my brother. You disappoint me. Were my constant teachers worth nothing to you?"

"I—no, of course they were...but..." Inuyasha shook his head and closed the door with a tired sigh as he sat against it, staring into the distinctive carpet fibers below his feet. "It's impossible for me to win, isn't it? You're notably disappointed in me, Gingitsune hates me for something I can't control and haven't even bothered to..." Sesshoumaru nodded, having dreaded this, the most miserable day of his young brother's life: the day in which he discovered that his heart, though biologically cold, was not made of stone. He sat beside Inuyasha, who was startled that his venerable brother would deign to sit on the floor.

"You will never speak of this to _anyone_." Sesshoumaru commanded, and Inuyasha realized that he was about to reveal something extremely important.

"Of course." Inuyasha nodded, silently giving his solemn word. Sesshoumaru was quiet for some time, until he finally said, "This feeling you have...it is not weakness. It is, in fact, one of the few things we have in common with humans. Every single person experiences the sensation at least once in their life." Inuyasha almost feared to ask, but the world just flew out like birds being released from lifelong imprisonment.

"Have _you_?" He was flabbergasted when Sesshoumaru nodded in affirmation.

"Several years ago, before you yourself was a vampire, I too experienced the feeling. Humans would call it something akin to love, but we are incapable of _that _much emotion. It morphed from lust to jealousy, to a fierce protectiveness, and finally, helpless, pandering affection. I hated myself witha passion for what I perceived as a hindrance of weakness, and thought I would be happy when she was murdered by a devourer, but I was not. I in fact became insane with rage, and refused to rest until his blood stained my very person."

"Did you kill him?" Inuyasha asked eagerly, hoping his brother had delivered a heaping dose of comeuppance to this brutal murderer.

"Alas, I was unable to do so, for by the time I discovered what the _kentanka _had done, he had already fled the country. I know not whether he still lives or not, but if I ever saw him again, I would squeeze his fucking throat until his eyes popped out of their sockets and his skull imploded." Inuyasha smiled brightly at this violent declaration. Devourers were even more loathed by the traditional vampiric community than _hanketsuki_, which was saying something. They were known as newborns who never quite developed a sense of restrain, and were thus compelled to eat anything gluttonously, hence their name.

"I'm glad to hear that. Thanks for cheering me up a little, Sesshoumaru." The older man nodded.

"Meanwhile, have you yet found a suitable _nyoubou_?" And just like that, Inuyasha's already minimal amusement faded.

"The girl who just left. I...wanted her as my mate. But apparently, it wasn't meant to be...she only wants stupid fucking Houjou now." Sesshoumaru looked at him.

"Who is Houjou?" He questioned, though alarm struck at him immediately after hearing that familiar name after so long.

"Some asshole Gingitsune's taken a liking to." Inuyasha grumbled. "I think he's a kyuuketsuki, but not an exemplary one. He seems evil to me."

"Our kind have an unfailing intuition. Trust it." Sesshoumaru stood and looked down calmly at his brother. "I recall telling you not to harm anyone around here. However, if ever you feel the need to kill this Houjou, I give you my explicit permission. In the meantime, try to keep your emotions from running away." Inuyasha moved out of his path as Sesshoumaru left the conventional way, through the door. When it was closed behind him, he looked at it for an indeterminable amount of time, his thoughts going wild. His hands clenched into serenely enraged fists.

_No. This is no longer my fight. If I know Inuyasha, he will do what is right and eliminate that scourge from the surface of the earth._

He closed his eyes, and in a flash, he was gone.

In his apartment, Inuyasha smirked wickedly. He would definitely take advantage of his brother's approval.

_I just hope Gingitsune doesn't hate me __**too **__much..._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Black Ice: Okay, so...this chapter was a bit short.

Blood Rain: Yeah, and angsty as all get out. I LOVED it!

Black Ice: (rolls eyes) In the meantime, we're gonna be editing No Secrets in Strangetown for quite some time, so don't expect chapters for that for a while.

Blood Rain: Reminder, people: it is not being _deleted_. Simply edited. It's gonna look shorter than it really is...that's about it. The content's not changing by much.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Today's Rant: (Well, now, here's a little something to lengthen this chapter a bit) My prayers have been answered!

Blood Rain: Okay, this is the thing. I'm sure you remember the rant about Inuyasha showing all the time, right? Well, apparently, _somebody _was listenin', 'cause since we're a bit slow, we just really noticed that Inuyasha only comes on twice a day now, and at 5 to 6 in the morning, when no one's really watching TV (in the southeast, anyway)! But we are a bit pissed that it's starting all the way over.

On a crappier note, Throwback Friday or whatever the hell they were calling it got suckier now that they've taken off the Brak Show and decided to run Oblongs to death again.

_But _Saturday's gotten better! Because they're not showing anything twice, there's more stuff on the lineup! I'm not much of a Venture Brothers fan, but it's okay, and I could probably stand to watch it;

Cowboy Bebop (what more can I say?);

Aqua Teen Hungerforce (love me some Meatwad!);

Metalocalypse (not as great at Flapjack (grins deviously at kagome313), but it's okay for watching when nothing else is on);

Shin-Chan (I've gotta admit, it just hasn't been as funny anymore. I prefer the older episodes. Gotta love the classics, right? Inuyasha excluded, though);

Death Note (which is being reshown (is that a word? Eh, who cares), but I want to watch it all the way over again 'cause I never got to catch ALL of the episodes);

Home Movies (to be honest, I'm sick of Home Movies. Show some Case Closed and Super Milk Chan, goddamn it!);

Full Metal Alchemist (see the explanation for Death Note; same rules apply);

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (I just love how Adult Swim twists around old cartoons like Space Ghost and Sealab (THAT ACTUALLY USED TO BE AN OLD 70's CARTOON!! But back then, it was Sealab 2020 (twentieth century) and actually made more sense))

Frisky Dingo (sucks shit)

The Boondocks (LOVE IT!)

Fooly Cooly (a.k.a FuriKuri) (_**LOVE IT!!**_)

Sealab 2021 (stupidly awesome)

Space Ghost: Coast to Coast (speak of the devil, huh?)

And then, of course, Inuyasha. Twice. For an entire hour. Damn, they could at least show the freaking opening songs, though! I've got nothing to go on but those old-ass DVDs (only three) I have in Japanese! Great way to learn, though. (Hint-hint for next rant)


	15. Dodgeball

Black Ice: (gasps) PEOPLE! What the hell?! Don't you have faith in us?!

Blood Rain: We would never set Inuyasha up with an OC...permanently. Gingitsune will be the Kikyou in this story.Trust us, Inuyasha will definitely be with Kagome in the end.

Black Ice: Anyway, sorry for not updating in so long, but we've been a bit busy...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

DarkDemonWithinMe13: Yeah, I totally heard that...I've been telling my friends, and they're all O.0_. _Super Milk Chan is mad stupid, but in a funny way. You should Google it!

toni mosley: Trust me, he won't be with Gingitsune in the long run.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_October 8_

_I haven't been to school in a week_. _For all I know, Gingitsune—who I have yet to see—could be dead, or worse, __**pregnant**__. I've gone by her house, but she's given her family strict orders not to let me in. I've had to resort to asking Shippou about how she's doing, and each time he reports back seems worse than the last. He had initially objected—something about morality or some bullshit—until I explained just how tarnished our friendship had grown._

_His first debriefing was that Houjou had begun "casually swinging_ _by" Gingitsune's house, but luckily, due to the many inhabitants of her home, his visits were always monitored to some degree. This meant that there was no way he could sneak in so much as a kiss. That was just the way I liked it—the way it was supposed to be._

_To add to my incredulous luckiness, Gingitsune's family were wary of Houjou as well. I fully planned to use this to my advantage when the opportunity presented itself. I was absolutely giddy about this outlook—for all of his impeccable manners and all those other aspects of his character that apparently made him seem preferable to a man like me, he still exuded an air of conceit and ill will_. _That is, to those of us with an iota of common sense. I don't like to say that Gingitsune's not acting logically, but instead acting on account of her wounded emotions, but that's just what she's doing. Sigh. If only she had told me all of this in the first place..._

_Ah, well. It can't be helped now. Anyway, the second report, the more recent, was that Houjou and Gingitsune were an official couple now. Sad to say, but true. God, I'm burning an ulcer in my stomach just __**thinking **__about those two together. What if he were a devourer? He would rip Gingitsune to shreds! And since I can't even find a way to see her without pissing her off more, there's no way I can protect her..._

Inuyasha sighed, not for the first time and certainly not the last, and there came a knock at his door. He was sorely tempted not to answer, but there was always the chance it could be Gingitsune. With yet another sigh, he got up from his bed and opened the door, surprised to see Kagome standing there with a container of something red—blood.

"Kagome?" He blinked, immediately remembering what had happened last week. "Listen, I...if this is about what I did, I'm sorry. I shouldn't've done that...I was way out of line."

"Hmm?" Kagome scratched her head, then waved him off with that ambiguous, affined smile he found so intriguing. "Oh, that. That's all in the past. Water under the bridge, you know. Even though you did bruise me a little, but hey, if I held grudges for things like that, I wouldn't have much, would I?" Inuyasha stared at her; if he didn't know any better, she was contrasting herself with Gingitsune, and at the moment, as a result, she was sounding much more appealing in comparison.

"Well, anyway." She interrupted his thoughts abruptly and he focused on her again. "I was getting kinda worried because you haven't been to school in a while and, well...I've heard the rumors about...Houjou and Gingitsune."

"Mm." Inuyasha grunted. "Yeah. They're dating now."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I know you liked her a lot."

"Yeah, well...apparently not enough to make her stay with me." With this conversation progressed, Inuyasha found himself unsure whether she was trying to muscle in on his (former) best friend's territory, or being genuinely friendly. Thus, he cleared his throat and said, "Well, I appreciate your consideration."

"Yeah...I wasn't sure if you were over here starving yourself, so I brought you a little something. Nothing huge, just something to tide you over until you're feeling well enough to feed for yourself."

"Thanks...that reminds me—what happened when I left Nanako's house?" Kagome pinked, obviously recalling that fateful day, and not unkindly. Inuyasha grinned in typical male pride. "What—get in trouble?"

"Um...no...not exactly...Ahem. She didn't bring it up. I mean, I knew she could tell, but she kept grinning like a replete cat..."

"Do you regret it?" Kagome's pink morphed into full-fledged red at the softly murmured question, burning even in Inuyasha's otherwise sad eyes.

"Um...h-here you go." She thrust the container into his hands and dashed back through her own apartment door. Inuyasha chuckled with a shake of his head and retreated into his apartment. He decided that the half-breed was pretty cute when she was embarrassed, especially considering the fact that she was normally always so self-confident.

Yes...Embarrassed was definitely a good look for her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He didn't know just why, but Kagome's visit had enthused Inuyasha, or at least enough to return to school Monday. When he went into the gymnasium for first block, he rediscovered something else that had previously escaped him: the fact that not only did Kagome have this class with him, but Gingitsune and Houjou as well. He sat on the top bleachers where he and Gingitsune had first met, enviously watching the girl giggling with Houjou on the very bottom bleacher.

"Wow, pissed much?" The female voice beside him startled him, and Inuyasha blinked at Kagome, who sat by him with a slightly worried frown.

"Huh?"

"Look, I know it makes you angry about those two, and it might even seem like they're doing it deliberately just to fuck with your head." Inuyasha stared at her. He hadn't even considered that—not of Gingitsune, at least! Houjou, sure, but Gingitsune was incapable of such spiteful malice...wasn't she?

He shook his head of these thoughts and listened to Kagome continue. "And none of this is even my business, probably, but if I may interject anyway, you shouldn't let them get to you like this."

"..."

"I mean, maybe it's just me, because I don't claim to be some relationship guru or something, but doesn't it look to you like Gingitsune's just a little misguided in this?"

"...I don't know." Inuyasha mumbled slowly. "But I do know this—I don't trust that Houjou worth a goddamn." Inuyasha clenched his fists, glaring at aforementioned male. Kagome lowered her voice as she murmured, "I agree, actually. He seems evil to me sometimes. Gives me the creeps."

"_Finally_, someone has the sense to listen to me on this!" Inuyasha groaned quietly. "You ever heard of a devourer?"

"Yup. I have a feeling that that's just what he is. Just a lot more refined than your run-of-the-mill glutton."

"Yeah. He's obviously adjusted himself to human life, just as I have...he know he can't just go around feeding whenever it strikes him." Kagome looked at him.

"Yeah, but impossible to learn on your own. I mean...it was easier for me when I was born because, well..." Inuyasha nodded in understanding.

_If I were a halfling, I wouldn't want to admit it too loudly either..._

"He must be—" Inuyasha absently put a finger to her lips to silence her, because he noticed the slight twitch of Houjou's ears. Kagome's cheeks dusted light pink and when he let go, he explained silently, "He's listening." Kagome made an O with her mouth and nodded, just as Aikawa-san blew her whistled.

"Okay, everyone! Today, we'll be getting into a healthy game of dodgeball!" The class groaned, but Inuyasha was intrigued. "For those of you who don't know, dodgeball is a game in which players line up on opposite sides of the court and rush to grab the six dodgeballs set in the middle of the floor. Players hit their opponents with the balls and get a point for every person they hit. If the person you aim for catches the ball in their hands, or if the dodgeball bounces on the floor before it hits the target, it's a point for that team. Once you get hit, you're out. Twelve to a team—Inuyasha and Houjou, you're team captains. Let's go!" Inuyasha didn't even look at Houjou as he leapt down the bleachers and took position on the floor. He gazed at Gingitsune, who looked back at him threateningly, and firmly called, "Kagome." The class was stunned. Since school had begun, Inuyasha had always chosen Gingitsune as his co-captain.

"An interesting development." Aikawa-san smirked to herself. "This should go over well." Kagome walked down the bleachers, avoiding Gingitsune's critical stare, and went to stand beside Inuyasha, staring down at the floors. It seemed shinier than she remembered.

"This feels weird." She mumbled, and Inuyasha snickered.

"Bankoutsu." Houjou said, and Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other.

"Even weirder." Inuyasha commented in an undertone, then called aloud, "Kouga."

"Dude," the wolf frowned behind Inuyasha, "what's up with you and Tsune-chan?" Inuyasha shrugged breezily, while Houjou called for another male.

"Ask _her_."

"Hell, _somebody _should." Kagome whispered, as Inuyasha called the long-haired girl, Yura, onto his team. "It doesn't look like Houjou's gonna call her, or any girl for that matter." It was true; soon enough, the class was narrowed down to two people: Gingitsune and a flamboyant boy named Jakoutsu, who was doing his nails idly. Most of the boys were on Houjou's team, and it was his turn to pick. He looked uncomfortable about it, but he reluctantly chose Jakoutsu, who sucked his teeth and sauntered onto the floor effeminately. Gingitsune looked disgusted that she had to be on Inuyasha's team at all, even by default, but went to join her teammates anyway.

"Don't think we're friends again just because of this." She hissed as she passed him. Inuyasha decided against retorting, and Aikawa-san blew her whistle again.

"Now, then...if you'll notice, the floors are a bit slippery. This is because it was just waxed about an hour ago, and this game was planned beforehand. So instead of one point, the game will be measured by five points, due to the increased difficulty." Inuyasha snorted; "increased difficulty". As if. "I'll give you a minute to strategize." She walked away, and Inuyasha turned to Gingitsune with a smirk.

"Now, don't get confused and "accidentally" hit me, Gingitsune!" He taunted, and his teammates laughed, but the neko huffed and scowled. He and Kagome distinctly heard her mumble, "No promises."

"You might wanna watch your ass, man." Kouga shook his head, roughly clapping Inuyasha on the back. "I don't know what's up between you guys, but she looks pissed."

"Right." Inuyasha said, before yelling to the rest of his team, "Spread out, people! From what I understand of this game, it shouldn't be too difficult. Just...try not to slip and fall."

"What about you, Mr. Perfect?" Kagome rolled her eyes. "It's not like _you _might not fall."

"_I _never fall." Inuyasha drawled.

"Then this should be amusing."

"Yeah, seriously." Kouga grinned. Aikawa-san blew her whistle again.

"Okay, on your mark...get set...go!" And just like that, about twenty teenagers were trying to slide their way across the slippery floor, Inuyasha laughing so hysterically at the humans who fell that he couldn't concentrate on getting the dodgeballs.

"Inuyasha, you dunce!" Kagome screamed, shoving him out of her way as she hurried to gather dodgeballs. She looked at Houjou, who looked pissed and disgruntled as he himself tried to keep balance, and grabbed about three dodgeballs, tossing them to Kouga and Inuyasha. "Kouga, make that idiot do _something_!"

"Right!" Kouga laughed, and elbowed Inuyasha. "Dude, throw the ball!" He caught sight of Houjou and smirked.

"I see my first target." He took advantage of Houjou so desperately trying to keep from wobbling too hard and chucked the ball straight for his face. Houjou wouldn't be such an easy target, however, for he leapt out of the way, only to fall right back on the floor, swearing violently. A demon on the other team caught the ball and threw it at one of Inuyasha's teammates: Gingitsune. Without a second thought, he skated over and caught the ball before it hit her face. She scowled shakily at him; cats hated slippery surfaces.

"Just trying to help." He shrugged.

"I don't need your help!" She spat, and gasped as she nearly fell face first onto the floor, had it not been for Inuyasha catching her.

"Looks like it to me." He grinned boyishly.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Bankoutsu, one of the humans on Houjou's team, cackled, throwing a ball at them. Out of nowhere came Kouga, who jumped into the air and deflected it with his forehead.

"Damn, man, are you alright?" Inuyasha blinked at the woozy looking wolf-demon, who merely shook his head.

"I'm...apple." He giggled, before falling to the floor. Inuyasha's team groaned as the whistle was blown.

"Out!" Aikawa-san called, and Inuyasha said, "Help me carry him?" In spite of herself, Gingitsune grabbed Kouga's left arm, Inuyasha grabbed his right, and they carted the heavy demon over to the bleachers.

"Gingitsune, why must we play this game of love and hate?" Inuyasha sighed, staring sorrowfully into her striking eyes.

"What love?" She drawled coldly, and it stung Inuyasha's very soul.

"Don't you realize Houjou's no good for you?"

"Oh, and you are?! A horny leech who doesn't know just when to quit?!" Gingitsune growled.

"Is that what you really think of me?" Before Gingitsune could bitterly reply, Kagome ran interference by grabbing Inuyasha's wrist and yanking him back onto the court.

"Hey! What the--"

"In case you haven't noticed, Romeo, there is a game going on here—one that we're losing, pitifully!" Kagome reminded him sarcastically, and Inuyasha sighed again. Kagome softened her tone and murmured, "Look, I know you're torn up about this and everything, but you have to just accept this, Inuyasha. It's not good for your health to pine."

"Who says I'm pining?" Inuyasha mumbled sullenly.

"Looks like it to me. _Gingitsune, why must we play this game of love and hate?_" Kagome played out theatrically, and Inuyasha couldn't help a small laugh, though he craved anger at her mockery. "Sounds like something out of drama class."

"Hey, don't mock my heart, alright?" He rolled his eyes, and Kagome smirked.

"Tell your heart not to be so damn corny all the time and I wouldn't have to." Inuyasha looked at her with a small smile.

"I'll keep that in mind."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_I'm not yet certain, but I might be insane. While it doesn't outweigh my attraction to Gingitsune, there seems to be one developing for Kagome. It may be because she made herself a more significant part of my life just as Gingitsune walked out of it. It may be because I feel somewhat of a kinship with Kagome because she is of my blood—and Houjou does not count because he is a __**kentanka **__and is therefore just a dirty beast._

_Whatever the reason, it's certainly a welcome distraction from my pain over Gingitsune's betrayal._

He winced as he wrote this, actually feeling a physical pain from this knowledge. He had finally acknowledged it: Gingitsune was a traitor. Inuyasha sighed. She was just lucky he was untraditional; where he came from, traitors got murdered.

_I--_

His pencil paused above the paper as he searched for more words, or even thoughts, but the ravenous rumbling of his stomach was interrupting his train of thought. In his slump over Gingitsune, he had consumed his entire supply as if he were a despicable devourer, and he'd lost the will to hunt, so basically, he'd been starving himself for a few days. The training Sesshoumaru had given him had begun to fade, due to his more comfortable lifestyle at present, and the fact that feeding in such a populated area would get him in trouble. He wasn't exactly fond of trouble.

"Damn." He mumbled. "Where the hell am I gonna get some food?" Vaguely, he wondered if Kagome would go with him, then stopped that train of thought immediately, horrified at himself.

_What the hell is wrong with me?! _He thought frantically. Sure, the girl was cute and all, but that...that was just a few steps too far. Only a _nyoubou _accompanied her _teishu _on a food run. Otherwise, his kind either went in packs or alone. He must have been delirious from the hunger or something.

Inuyasha knocked on his skull, as if to rattle his "dislodged" brain back into place, and left the apartment, startled to see Kagome sitting outside her own door, looking pissed at something.

"What's wrong with _you_?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm locked out." She grumbled. "Forgot my key this morning 'cause I was about to be late, and Daddy doesn't get home until, like, midnight." Inuyasha looked at her for a long time, then burst out into hysterical laughter. Kagome scowled even deeper. "Shut up! It's not funny, damn it!"

"Yeah...you're right." He grinned. "It's fucking _hysterical_."

"Hardy har har. How about putting those brains to some good use and helping me out here, fool?"

"Well..." He caught his breath, his laughter subsiding. "Haven't you tried your claws? I'm sure you have to have _some_." Still scowling, Kagome held up ten fingers, each of which mangled nails sat in crumpled heaps. Inuyasha grimaced. "Ew. Think you were trying a bit hard?"

"Shut up."

"Tried going through a window?"

"Aren't we on the third floor?"

"Uh, aren't you a kyuuketsuki?" Inuyasha drawled.

"Not at current, unfortunately. It's a bit difficult for ningen to leap up three floors."

"Scale the wall." Inuyasha shrugged, and his growling stomach interrupted the conversation. He groaned, scratching at it. "Fuck. I forgot why I came out here."

"Hungry, are we?" Kagome mumbled, her chin resting on her knees.

"Maybe. It's not like you can go."

"It's not like I'd _want _to. Sorry, bloodsucker guy, but I'm not the kind of chick who goes coasting for gore whenever the tummy gets to shaking." Inuyasha snorted, then realized what she'd said.

"Wait, hold on. Are you saying you get hungry, too?"

"Of course I do! Eating once a month isn't exactly great for your health, you know!" She snapped peevishly. "You can eat anytime you want, but me? I do have to keep up some kind of appearance."

"Any—who the hell told _you _that? I _wish _I could eat anytime I wanted! Hell, even _before_ I came here, I couldn't eat anytime I wanted. It's not like a freaking devourer or something." Inuyasha mumbled, offended.

"Sorry." The hall was silent for a moment, then Inuyasha said, "What about Miroku?"

"What about him? That boy's _never _home." Kagome scoffed, and looked up at him, curious. "How come you're here entertaining me when you could be eating?"

"After that glutton comment, I'm not exactly hungry anymore." Kagome stared at him for a moment, before laughing loudly, just like he had a while back. "What's so damn funny?!"

"God, you're such a hypocrite! You say you can't stand humans, yet you act just like them! I mean, if somebody told me anything remotely close to what you assume I told you, I wouldn't eat for a while, either, just 'cause I felt gluttonous. Then again, that's to be expected of a human girl."

"Are—are you calling me feminine?!" Inuyasha spluttered, outraged beyond belief. What the hell was _with _these people? First Miroku, now his cousin?! "I am not fucking _feminine_, goddamn it!"

"Well, you are kinda...you know. Girlishly fastidious."

"In other words, _feminine_!"

"If you want to get _technical_, you could say that..." Kagome giggled, but Inuyasha was unamused. Shooting her a dirty look, he mumbled, "I hope you enjoy your time with the hallway, bitch." He stalked off, heading for the elevator, and Kagome, rolling her eyes, got up and followed.

"Jeez, can't you take a joke? I was just kidding. I mean, I gotta find _some _ventilation for this stupid crap, and you were the nearest thing." Kagome explained, trying to keep her laughter at bay, but Inuyasha refused to talk to her, mashing the lobby button. "Aw, don't be like that, Inuyasha! I thought we were cool!" His sharp glare told her otherwise. "Okay, hold on a minute." She held up a finger, putting her hand on her hip. "There must be something to this that I'm not getting. How come you're so sensitive to being called feminine?"

"I'm not _sensitive_, goddamn it."

"Okay, let me rephrase that." Kagome chuckled, relieved, for some reason, that he was talking to her again. "Why don't you like being called feminine?"

"It's none of your business." He said distantly, as the elevator stopped and its doors rattled open.

"Damn, I wish Wataru would get those doors fixed." Kagome said as they got out, following Inuyasha out of the building. "That rattling creeps me out. But anyway, back to you, playboy."

"I said it's no concern of yours, okay?"

"Is it a childhood thing?" Now Kagome was in psychologist mode, expression completely solemn. One wouldn't have guessed she had just be laughing a minute ago, or even at all.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'd like to know this." Inuyasha thought for a minute.

"Okay." He decided, startling Kagome.

"Wh-what? You're really gonna tell me?!"

"Sure, why not?" He whistled smoothly, and instantly, Kagome knew better.

"Wait, hold on." She pursed her lips, suspicion creeping into her tone. "You want something in return."

"As per usual."

"What is it?" Suddenly he stopped, whirling around to face her with a lazy expression on his face. Kagome blinked, confused, then her face flared red when he leaned in close to her ear to murmur, "I think you know."

"In a public place?!" She stammered under her breath. Inuyasha blinked, feigning innocence as he said, "Is your father's occupation so bad that you can't tell me publicly?" Kagome stared at him for quite some time, and just as he started laughing like a hyena, she punched him in the arm.

"You sick bastard!" She huffed, embarrassed to the highest extent. "God! I thought you meant..."

"Now _that _can be arranged." Inuyasha smirked. "It's called revenge, girlie. Get used to it."

"Oh, shut up!" Kagome narrowed her eyes, and took a few moments to overcome her embarrassment before taking a deep breath. "Well..." She looked around nervously. "This is the thing. My father is..."

"Yeah?" Inuyasha coaxed, eager to hear this.

"Yakuza." Kagome mumbled. "Mob boss. He knew my mother because he was supposed to kill her, but ended up doing something entirely different."

"Apparently." Inuyasha grinned, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Ignoring him, Kagome went on, "Well, he found out she was pregnant with me, so he gave her a bunch of money and put her up in Sapporo where she couldn't be discovered by the rest of them."

"Okay. So why was she supposed to be killed?"

"Higher orders."

"Huh?" Inuyasha scratched his head in confusion. "But I thought your father—"

"Just for appearances." Kagome waved him off vaguely. "Some woman named Kanna is the highest-up." Inuyasha asked no more after hearing this, his hunger long forgotten. Who was Kanna?

And why did her name sound so familiar?


	16. Trance

Black Ice and Blood Rain: (stare at the ground, guilty)

Black Ice: We feel like total asses.

Blood Rain: Seriously.

Black Ice: I mean...what the hell were we thinking? Pressuring you guys to vote for us just so we could get something?

Blood Rain: We're like the politicians of fanfiction.

Black Ice: And that's the lowest, crappiest title of all. We are ashamed, deeply, deeply.

Blood Rain: Thus, we ask that you disregard the A/N from the last chapter about that. 'Cause I'd be _real _pissed if we were somehow blacklisted by the IYFanguild for pimping our own story and _begging _for a nomination. We're better than that.

Black Ice: Yeah. It would be nice...but it doesn't determine our story content. What happens happens, you know?

Blood Rain: In any case, it's been deleted, so there's no more evidence on the Net. I'm _telling you_, I am going to be really fucking pissed if we get put on that Banned list!

Black Ice: (shakes head)

* * *

"Aw, damn it." Inuyasha grumbled sullenly, realizing that, in getting caught up with Kagome, he had forgotten to eat. "Look, you should really go somewhere else. I can't _stand _eating in front of people, and I would just hate _to _offend your delicate sensibilities." The sarcasm was evident in his tone, and she snorted.

"You _obviously _don't know me at all. I've done things that would shock even _you_."

"Yeah? Try me."

"Hell no! You just cheated me out of a goddamn secret, you digressing asshole!"

"What?"

"You said that if I told you about my father, you'd tell me why you hate being called feminine!"

Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms. "Any self-respecting man should hate that. Can't you just be satisfied with that explanation?" The dry look on Kagome's face convinced him otherwise. "_Fine_. I'll tell you. But I'll also tell you this: I tend to get extremely irritant when I'm hungry, and damn it, I haven't eaten in days."

"Fine. But you have to share."

"Um, _no_!" Inuyasha was aghast at the very idea. "Because for one thing, you're not even my _nyoubou_, girl! And for another, you've already built up too high a tolerance. I'll be damned if your mother and father come after my ass with torches and shit just because you were too dumb to stay home instead of follow me. You know what they say: curiosity killed the cat." Kagome glared at him.

"I'm not a child, Inuyasha, nor am I a newborn. I _think _I'm mature enough to control an urge should the occasion rise."

"Trust me, you're not." Inuyasha shook his head gravely. "I know how your kind can get. As soon as you get a taste, you're hooked. That's why there are so few of you—it's been decreed that all halflings are to be put to death." Kagome's face went pale and she rasped, "_**WHAT?!**_" Inuyasha blinked, dread seeping into his gut.

"Oh...you didn't...know that?" Inuyasha smiled sheepishly, but now Kagome was too horror stricken to be angry.

"I knew my kind was forbidden—taboo, even, but..." She stared up at him, mouth agape as though she'd just had a revelation. Inuyasha sighed, not really realizing where her mind was going.

"See? That's exactly why I should've just kept my big mouth shut. You were living the cushiest life a half-breed could e—"

"YOU!" Kagome screeched, hysteria making her accusatory pointed finger shake uncontrollably. "So _that's _what this is about! You were sent to _kill _me!"

"What?!" Inuyasha's brows furrowed in offended annoyance. "Bitch, what kind of grass are _you _on?! Nobody _sent _me! I came here upon my brother's accord, and _he _doesn't even know you exist!"

"Bullshit!"

"Kagome, calm down!" Inuyasha yelled, exasperated with her.

"How the hell can I calm down when I can't even trust my next door neighbor?! _God_, this is—this is even worse than that voyeur movie from Lifetime!"

"_Kagome._" Inuyasha said firmly, grabbing her wrists. "Now, you know better than that. If I wanted to kill you, you know damn well I would've done it by now, and with the utmost pleasure, at that." Kagome stared suspiciously at him, trying to gauge his candor, then finally sighed, raking her fingers through her hair.

"Okay...I'll accept that as true." She mumbled. "Sorry, Inuyasha...I guess I'm just kinda paranoid. I mean...I'm not safe anymore."

"Now, _that's _bullshit." Inuyasha drawled, quirking an eyebrow. "Just because you're aware of it doesn't mean you're any more endangered because of it."

"But don't you see?" Kagome pled desperately, and a different hunger flared up in his gut than the previous one afflicting him. "If I know I'm not even supposed to be _living_, I'm going to be constantly looking over my shoulder. When I do that, I look awfully suspicious, so whoever the hell is trying to kill me will have an extremely easy time doing it."

"Let me reiterate. No _kyuuketsuki _worth his salt would scour this place just to find one elusive half-breed. It's not like you're a delinquent or something. They don't even know you exist!"

"You sound awfully amused at this."

"Because you're being stupid." Inuyasha sighed wearily, his hunger taking its toll on him. "And you won't go away and let me eat."

"So just why the hell can't I be around when you eat?" She demanded.

"Because throughout my time as a vampire, I've developed an eating habit that now, I'm not so proud of anymore." Kagome blinked, not getting it. "Augh! Don't you know _anything_?! Our kind are lustful creatures—don't you remember how you were when you were transformed?" She looked at him for a while, until it dawned on her, making her face flare red.

"_Ohh_..." She mumbled, and it became awkward between them. "Right...heh...I don't think I really want to be a part of that."

"Yeah, well, that's what I've been _trying _to tell you since I've been sitting here _starving_." Inuyasha intoned, then cleared his throat, glaring sideways at nothing in particular. "Look. I could walk you back to the complex if you want."

"Yeah, but the door's locked."

"Not mine." Inuyasha held out his silver apartment key and Kagome reluctantly took it.

"...Thanks..." She mumbled shyly, and Inuyasha shook his head, mostly in wonderment at the bizarreness of humans—or at least half-humans, anyway.

* * *

The two walked in uncomfortable silence some time later. Inuyasha said quietly, feeling annoyed at what he perceived as a semblance of piety on Kagome's part, "_Look_, I didn't choose the way I am, alright? My brother raised me through my rebirth, and he taught me that women are good for only three things: breeding, a quick fuck, and, occasionally, sustenance." Kagome frowned.

"That's...an awfully sexist outlook for him. And you, for that matter. Women aren't playtoys, Inuyasha. I thought you knew that." He winced; Gingitsune had said something along those lines as well, and now that Kagome had inadvertently hopped upon the bandwagon of reprobation, he was starting to think that there could possibly be some truth to these words. Initially, he believed Gingitsune had merely been rambling out of spite. Now he was no longer so sure of this.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me. Apparently, it wasn't enough to hear it from Gingitsune." He muttered acrimoniously, and Kagome pinked, embarrassed.

"Oh...I-I didn't know...I'm sorry."

"You didn't know, right?" Inuyasha repeated gruffly. "Just drop it, okay?"

"Well...do you believe that thing about women?"

"I don't know anymore. After Gingitsune deserted me for that goddamned _kentanka_, I just thought all women were rotten, evil hags with ill intentions. But when we were friends, I often found myself challenging that. I think he only thought that because the woman he loved got killed by a devourer." Kagome, however, misinterpreted his last words, and cocked her head curiously.

"You loved Gingitsune?"

"I doubt it. Our kind are incapable of such emotion." Inuyasha corrected. Sesshoumaru would've been proud. "But I felt a strong affinity for her. She was the first female—honestly, the first _person—_I could call my friend."

"Personally, I think you loved her and just didn't know it." Kagome suggested, and in a rare moment of mental honesty, Inuyasha asked himself if his inexplicable fondness for his traitorous friend was truly love. Though vampires were by no means modest, they at least could rely on instinct to guide their way.

"No," Inuyasha finally shook his head, knowing he spoke truth. "I think I just craved a closed relationship than that I had with the women I considered nothing but outlets for my hunger and lust. And now that my best friend is gone, what's the point in abstinence?"

"You can't just let your fear, anger, and loneliness control you like that." Kagome admonished.

"I fear _nothing_." Inuyasha growled.

"You do. You fear rejection, one of the thing you have in common with ningen. Having wanton sex with women you barely know is a security blanket, if you will—you know _they _won't reject you, so you take advantage of that fact. You had your guard up before you met Gingitsune, but when you realized that she wouldn't submit to you so easily, you got intrigued, despite the warning bells going off in your mind."

Before she could go on with her psychoanalysis, Inuyasha cut her off curtly. "Stop presuming to know me, damn it!" He snapped, but Kagome seemed to be in a trance, her eyes blank and glassy as she continued to speak, not giving any indication she'd even heard him.

"She befriended you and you found yourself pining after her like a lovesick puppy, because let's be honest: you've been lonely your entire life. With Sesshoumaru always mysteriously disappearing and leaving you alone with nothing but your thoughts to keep you company, you jumped at the first chance you could get for companionship. You couldn't have a friendship with any other women because you either thought too little of them, didn't care about them, only wanted them for one thing, or ended up killing them in one of your lewd frenzies." Now her voice grew mystic, as if she were an oracle, and Inuyasha stared at her, stricken.

"W—what the hell?!" He spluttered, the cogs in his brain screeching to a halt.

_How the hell does she know all that?!_

"I'm sure you were thrown for a complete loop when she started drifting away from you, but you couldn't've been _too _surprised. After all, it was your fault she left you; Houjou had absolutely nothing to do with it. He just happened to be around when she left."

"Alright, that's enough!" Inuyasha snarled. "Now you're going too fucking far!"

"It was your lascivious ways that drove Gingitsune into his arms. You obviously lusted after the half-breed, then had the gall to try to take out your sexual frustrations on the neko. She may not be human, but--"

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha grabbed and shook her shoulders as hard as he could, and the glassy look faded. Kagome blinked, looking confused.

"What?" Her voice was back to normal, but Inuyasha was too furious to note this.

"That's what the fuck I should be asking! What the hell was up with that shit?!" He fumed, angered beyond belief. "You think that was funny or something?!"

"Do I think what was funny?" Kagome frowned. "Ow...my head hurts." Inuyasha gawked at her.

"Are...are you _serious_?"

"About what? Inuyasha, you're acting weird." Kagome sighed, rubbing her temples, and continued to walk. "Jeesh, we're _still _not there? Dude, you're gonna starve if you don't pick up the pace." Inuyasha's feet were glued to the pavement.

_But...she..._

* * *

Black Ice: Hmm. We really didn't wanna stop it here, but we didn't want to reveal too much too soon.

Blood Rain: My question is, what the hell was up with Kagome, for real?

Black Ice: Was she possessed?

Blood Rain: Was she trying to be funny or something?

Black Ice: Or was she just trying to confuse the piss out of our poor readers?!

Blood Rain: Eh, who cares? (Grins evilly)


	17. History

"Now stay in here. Don't touch _anything_." Inuyasha warned, as Kagome went into his apartment. She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Like I'd want to. I'll probably go to sleep or something anyway."

"If you do, you better not sleep in my bed."

"I'll keep that in mind." Kagome snorted. "Now go, eat—stop giving me your stupid houserules." Inuyasha huffed and left. "Time to be nosy!" She grinned, closing the door after him. She started exploring the fancily-decorated apartment, but soon found that there was nothing to Inuyasha that she didn't already know.

Bored already, she finally came to a small room full of books. "Well, I know he's a total bookworm." She muttered, taking note of the many reference books lining the shelves. Kagome was about ready to leave and go to sleep—preferably in Inuyasha's bed, if only to annoy the hell out of him—when she came upon an open box beside the shelf. It piqued her interest, as it was full of small, leather-bound books much like the diary Inuyasha so frequently carried around. She sat beside the box and took out the bottommost book, reading the inscription on its spine: _Book I, First Year, February-August._

"Huh. Wonder what _that _means." Encouraged by her curiosity, she opened the book and began to read.

_February 3_

_Okay. I...I am unsure of what to write in this. The man who rescued me from my near-death a few weeks ago told me to record my daily life in this book. He tells me he is my brother, but I know of no family, except for the woman who made me what I am, and I can barely remember her._

_My "brother", whose name is Sesshoumaru, watches me warily from across the room of this small cabin, as though I will go on a rampage. It is useless to defy him; I learned this from my time with him._

_I don't remember anything at all from the time I woke. The only things I do remember are a blinding pain, an insatiable hunger, and the voice of a beautiful woman apologizing to me. From what I have been told by Sesshoumaru, these were all after-effects of my "rebirth". I hadn't understood, until he very impatiently explained all of it to me, as if I was supposed to already know these things._

_According to Sesshoumaru, I am a previously human boy named Inuyasha—a bizarre name if there ever was one—who lived a normal life amongst other humans like me. Upon my fifteenth summer, I met a mysterious palefaced woman whose name escapes me. Being the moronic ningen I was, I let her intrigue me to the point of an emotion called "love". She turned out to be a **kyuuketsuki**, a creature virtually untouched by time who survives off of the consumption of blood. The woman transformed me into one of her kind._

_This explains the hunger, naturally._

_Sesshoumaru is also one of these creatures, and says that there are many more of them, hidden away in fear of persecution. It seems that ningen can do considerable harm when rallied together for a common purpose._

_He says that I am a newborn, a kyuuketsuki created from the venom of another's bite. The woman had probably intended to kill me and drink my blood for sustenance, but accidentally missed that life-giving vein in my neck, injecting me with the mutating venom that made me what I am._

Kagome was enthralled by the contents of this journal, so much so that when the sudden voice of Shippou filled the room, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"What are you doing?!" Shippou yelled, and the book went flying out of Kagome's hands.

"Oh—jeez, Shippou, you scared the piss out of me!" Kagome gasped, picking the book up from the floor.

"_Tell _me you weren't doing what I thought you were doing!" He snatched Inuyasha's diary from her hands and she pouted.

"Hey, I was reading that."

"I knew—damn it, Kagome, what are you, insane?! Inuyasha does not want _anyone _reading his journals!"

"Whoa, whoa—he never said anything about the _plural_. It was just the one! Besides, I didn't even know about these things."

"These "things" are off-limits to anybody by him." Shippou admonished curtly, crossing his arms and putting the journal back into its box with the others. "They're so personal, he wouldn't even want a _nyoubou _to read them, let alone you."

"Ouch much?" Kagome huffed. "I was just curious."

"Didn't anybody ever tell you that curiosity killed the cat?"

"Yeah—he did. What's the big deal, anyway? I mean, I told him about my dad."

"Oh, did you? Well, that's really good and all, but trust me, _your _history can't compare at all to his."

"I know! It's like a story or something!" Kagome laughed excitedly. "I wanna know who the woman was!"

"No!" Shippou said sharply, and Kagome blinked.

"You know, Shippou?"

"Yes, I _know_, but I'm not telling you. Inuyasha would kill me. Literally." He gulped. "You need to get out of here before he comes back."

"Oh, please." Kagome rolled her eyes. "Like he's a quickie fucker."

"And you would know." Shippou taunted, making the half-blood's face redden.

"Shut up! How do _you _know about that?!"

"Oh, come on. You honestly think Nanako would leave you, transformed and horny, with Inuyasha, who was obviously lusting after you, without some kind of plan in mind?"

"_Ugh!_" Kagome groaned. "My _God_, she's so devious! I should've known she had _something _in mind."

"Well, I mean, are you mad at her for setting you two up?"

"I don't know. I guess not...we did get a little closer, but I feel bad because it's my fault he and Gingitsune aren't friends anymore." Kagome mumbled guiltily.

"How is that your fault? From my understanding, Gingitsune ran into Houjou's arms."

"Only because Inuyasha lusted after _me_, and couldn't see that Gingitsune liked him."

"Again, I don't see how that's your fault. Sounds like no one's to blame, really, except Gingitsune, in my opinion. She should've just come clean to Inuyasha with her feelings before any of this crazy mess started up."

"I thought she was your cousin!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't acknowledge when she's wrong." Shippou shook his head. "It's like this: I love Tsune-chan, but she's so damn proud. Then she likes to blame others for her problems when things go wrong because of all that pride. Then again, I guess that's a cat for you."

"Guess so." Kagome yawned, and left the small library. Shippou followed her as she went into Inuyasha's room.

"What are you _doing_?!"

"I'm about to go to sleep, _Mom_. Do you mind?" Kagome mumbled, crawling into Inuyasha's bed, but recoiling at the coldness. "Jeez, what the hell; does the guy sleep in ice cubes or something?!" Shippou shrugged.

"You really shouldn't be in here, either."

"You know, from the sounds of it, I just shouldn't be in his damn house, should I?" Kagome said sarcastically. "It's not like I'm gonna read his _current _diary! Jeez, Ship, have some faith in me!"

"Well, still. He did send me here for a reason—to make sure you don't go plundering through his house or stink up his bed." Kagome glared at him. "Hey, his words, not mine."

"Well, you're a sucky messenger. I already _did _"plunder" through his house, _and _I'm "stinking up his bed" as we speak, so if I were you, I'd go back and tell him to fuck off." She yawned, snuggling into Inuyasha's pillows and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Inuyasha entered his home sometime after midnight, no longer hungry, but vexed beyond belief. There had to have been twelve women he encountered tonight, and he neither fucked nor killed any of them. Normally, he was minorly inconvenienced by a kill, but he would've at least fucked _one _of them.

_There's no way what those two said is getting to me. _He thought in disbelief, stripping off his blood-stained clothes and heading into his bathroom to shower away the shame and embarrassment he felt.

Inuyasha adjusted the water to its hottest and once he got used to the scalding heat, he absently washed himself with a bar of caustic soap.

_I've never allowed a woman to affect my actions so drastically, let alone two. This could be catastrophic. And for some reason, I can't stop thinking about Sesshoumaru's deadline. I've got two months and a few days, by my calculations, and as long as that amount of time seems, it's really shorter than one would think. I've yet to find a woman suitable enough to satisfy my brother's impossibly high standards, except of course for Gingitsune, who was everything either of us could've wanted and more...and she's no longer available._

A persistent burning sensation halted his thoughts and he looked down to see his skin red from the caustic soap.

"Shit." He swore with a sigh, and quickly washed his hair with some lightly scented shampoo, then stepped out of the shower. Inuyasha wrapped his lower body in a towel and his hair in another, and left the bathroom, going into his bedroom. He didn't bother turning on the light, for his superior vision worked for him as well as if the room were fully illuminated. He was too caught up in his thoughts, concentrating on getting dry, to notice the figure so comfortable in his bed.

_Damn. Now my skin hurts. Ah, well. Wonder if that nosy wench finally got back home..._

He had an answer a few moments after he crawled into his bed naked, having long ago considered sleeping in clothes to be a hindrance. Kagome's eyes popped open as she felt a rather muscular organ resting soft against the seat of her jeans.

"Whoa! What the fuck?!" "WHAT THE HELL?!"

These simultaneous exclamations could barely be heard over each other, and Inuyasha scrambled away from Kagome, who actually fell off of the bed and onto the carpet.

"I'm gonna give you three seconds to explain just why the hell you were sleeping in my bed!"

"I told you I was gonna go to sleep! Damn!" Kagome scowled, rubbing her head. "And the damn bed's so freaking cold, I'm surprised _anything _sleeps in it!"

"Stop changing the subject! Didn't I _explicitly _command you not to sleep in my bed?"

"_Command?_" Kagome repeated, incredulous. "Oh, you _know _for damn sure I wasn't about to listen to _that_. Listen, dude, couldn't you just let me stay here for the rest of the night?"

"_No_." Inuyasha refused outright, crossing his arms. "And here are three reasons why. One: if I'm not mistaken, you have a home to go to. Two: that home's not even two yards away. And three: _you are not my nyoubou. _I cannot stress that enough."

"Yeah, but my dad's gotta be home by now, and either way, the door's gonna be locked!" Kagome whined.

"Well, now, I guess you'll learn not to leave your key in the house anymore, hmm?" Inuyasha grinned unpleasantly.

"Why are you being so mean?!" Kagome yelled.

"I've got a better question. When have I ever been nice?" She glared at him through the darkness.

"You know what? You're right. And obviously, you never have, or Gingitsune would still be your friend." She commented sourly, getting to her feet and heading for the door. Snarling under his breath, Inuyasha grabbed her by the back of her shirt and brought her face to face with him, anger etched all over his shadowy features, the darkness making him all the more menacing.

"Do not fucking mention her. Is that clear?" Kagome didn't want to show her fear, but he was like an articulate Cerberus or something. Silently, she nodded, and Inuyasha released her with a deep scowl. "You can stay here, but only for tonight. You need to get a goddamn spare made." Before Kagome could retort, he slammed his room door in her face.

"God. _Somebody's _cranky." She rolled her eyes, but her attempt to push away the chill riding down her spine was futile. Inuyasha had scared her, and she couldn't hide it. "Stupid asshole..." Kagome grumbled, crossing her arms, and her eyes drifted over to the door leading to his little library. "I know a way to get him back, though." With a devious smirk, she crept into the room and picked up the first journal, turning back to the page where she left off. Her human eyes were pretty weak, but the moonlight shining through the window would help her enough.

_That stupid woman. I can't remember her, but I do recall that voice...I don't know why, but the information I was given about her reminds me of that voice...a little too much..._

* * *

Black Ice: (whistles) Huh. Just when you thought something was blooming, something like _this _goes and happens.

Blood Rain: I agree. This was mostly written by yours truly, of course. So, uh...yeah.

Black Ice: OH, YEAH! I FORGOT TO MENTION: WE GOT NOMINATED! YIPPEE!

Blood Rain: I would do a yippee, too, but aside from that not really being my thing, I'm a bit soured on the whole IYFanguild bit. I am happy about it, though, so to our nominator, much love. (grins)

Black Ice: Come on, seconding! Seconds, seconds, seconds! (shakes hand as if about to roll dice) HA!


	18. Friends

_October 18_

_Things are getting strange around here. The morning after the night Kagome stayed at my place, I reluctantly apologized to her being so...well...rude. And you know what the hell the crazy broad did? She actually **hugged **me, for reasons completely unknown to me. She hugged me and told it was okay. I asked if she was **feeling **okay, but she just smiled kind of cryptically and said she was fine. Okaaay..._

_Anyway. You'll never believe what happened today in first period..._

Inuyasha was getting his homework out of his math folder to be taken up. "_Damn_, this crap was hard..." He huffed, and almost jumped at a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned, surprised to see the soft-faced Gingitsune of his past.

"I heard...you and Kagome were dating." She murmured. When he said nothing, she timidly continued, "Um...I just wanted to congratulate you. On that. I know you've been wanting to date her for some time..." Inuyasha glared at her.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Gingitsune? Why do you make these egregious assumptions? Just because I lusted after her didn't mean I wanted her to be with me. I still don't. I've always wanted you to be my nyoubou...you know that." Gingitsune pinked.

"I _want _to believe that, but...you're so wanton. And there's no way I could ever fully satisfy your bloodlust _or _your sexual lust."

"Gingitsune, I've been basically starving myself ever since you started dating that fool. I keep thinking about what you said, and it disturbs me so considerably, I've become abstinent...in a sense. I don't mind hungering if it makes you happy."

"Well...still..." Gingitsune mumbled, blushing girlishly. "I don't like the, um, terms we parted on."

"And what makes you think I do?"

"I want us to be friends again. What does that say?"

"Flirtatious friends with possible benefits?!" He beamed eagerly, and Gingitsune laughed.

"Don't be stupid, boy! I do still have a boyfriend...who I'm actually defying by even talking to you. He doesn't really...trust you." Inuyasha snorted loudly and emphatically.

"I should fuck him up just for saying that dumb shit. _He's _the one who can't be trusted."

"Inuyasha," she admonished. "In order for this...renewed friendship to work, you have to accept the fact that Houjou and I are dating, and behave accordingly."

"Fine." Inuyasha grumbled, crossing his arms. "And _you _have to accept the fact that unless you want me to die of starvation, I have to feed, specifically from females. If you don't want me to, I won't fuck them."

"Okay." Gingitsune smiled, and shocked him with an embrace. "I missed you." She whispered, sending a shiver down his spine.

_Damn! _He thought nervously. Even now, she _still _turned him on, a little too much for his comfort.

"So...we're friends again?" He asked cautiously, and smiled when she nodded, barely resisting the urge to say "yay!" as if he were an overenthusiastic schoolgirl.

"But, of course, no more flirting is allowed. That used to be okay when I was a single gal, but--"

"Now that you're an old married "gal"," Inuyasha drawled, "that's no good. Yeah, I get it." Gingitsune grinned, quickly scurrying into her seat as the bell rang. However, the two passed notes during the entire lesson.

Inuyasha: _**Man**__, do we have a lot to catch up on!_

Gingitsune: _I know! Tell me more about this whole halfling business situation with Kagome._

Inuyasha: _To say you think she's a total bitch, you sure have an interest in her. Something you want to tell me?_

At Inuyasha's lecherous grin as she read this note, the neko pinked indignantly.

Gingitsune: _Shut up! I do __**not **__think that about her! NEITHER OF THOSE!_

Inuyasha: _Well, you did used to think she was a bitch._

Gingitsune: _I'm over it, okay?_

Inuyasha: _Whatever you say...alright, so a while back, the dunce accidentally locked herself out of her apartment. I was looking for some food since the supply was pretty much deficient. We started talking, she called me feminine, so I said fuck her and left._

Gingitsune: _You fucked her and left?_

Inuyasha glared at her as she snickered uncontrollably.

Inuyasha: _Don't be funny._

Gingitsune: _Okay, I stop. Then what happened?_

Inuyasha: _I went to get some good and the wench followed me, asking why I didn't like being called feminine._

Gingitsune: _I see it's back to "wench" once more. And that's actually kind of a stupid question—what straight guy __**would **__like being called feminine?_

She passed him the note, then just as quickly took it back, quickly scribbling something additional.

Gingitsune: _And by the way, stop writing so damn scribbly! Your penmanship looks like a goddamn RSVP invitation compared to mine!_

Inuyasha smirked.

Inuyasha: _Don't be a hater. I thought it was a stupid question, too. Who the hell knows why she would ask that? To be nosy, I suppose, but god knows she was persistent. She said she'd tell me what her father did if I told her the real reason._

Gingitsune: _What her father does? Real reason? SO MANY QUESTIONS!_

Inuyasha: _Well, ask away. It's not as though we don't have time._

Before he could give it to her, something else came to mind, and he wrote something else.

Inuyasha: _Also, something else happened that really invoked my curiosity._

Gingitsune: _Yeah? Uh...I don't know which question I want you to answer first, so just be random._

Inuyasha: _Well, I can't exactly tell you what her father does, and I'm not even telling __**her **__what the real reason for my defensiveness is, but I __**can**__ tell you the other thing._

Gingitsune frowned a bit as she wrote.

Gingitsune: _How come you can't tell me what her father does? Is it that horrible or that degrading?_

Inuyasha: _I was asked not to tell. You can respect that, can't you? After all, you should know better than anyone that curiosity kills the cat._

Gingitsune pouted.

Gingitsune: _I guess._

Inuyasha: _So anyway. I was walking her back to the complex, and something weird happened. She started getting all...psychoanalytical on me, and her eyes went glazed over like she was in a trance._

Gingitsune: _Yeah? That sounds...weird. Mind control, perhaps?_

Inuyasha: _Perhaps. We should ask Kirara. She's a psychic._

Gingitsune snickered.

Gingitsune: _Yeah, but she'll deny it like absolute hell._

Inuyasha: _It amuses me._

The two grinned at each other, and Inuyasha nudged her.

"I'm glad we're friends again, Tsune-chan."

"Me, too, Yash."

* * *

"Well, well, well! The happy couple has reunited!" Miroku laughed as Gingitsune and Inuyasha approached the table together. Houjou, who had just recently joined their small group of friends, stiffened as Gingitsune sat on one side of him, Inuyasha on the other.

"Miroku, you're an idiot." Gingitsune rolled her eyes, and kissed Houjou on the cheek. "Hi, baby."

"Hello." Houjou mumbled.

"_Hi, baby_." Inuyasha sneered mockingly, making annoying kissing noises. Kirara, Miroku, and Gingitsune laughed, but somehow, Houjou himself was less than amused.

"It's about time you came back. We thought you were dead." Kirara smiled.

"Something like that." Inuyasha chuckled, leaning back in his chair and reveling in his nemesis's discomfort. "But I couldn't give buddy boy the satisfaction." This was intentionally vague, because Inuyasha wanted to see how Houjou would react.

"Oh, you mean Shouyou?" Houjou said, his voice quiet as per usual. "Because from what I hear, he's been plotting against you ever since you...incapacitated him."

"Is that right?" Inuyasha smirked. "Well, I'll just do it again, to him and anybody else who fucks with something that belongs to me." He shrugged, and what he meant by this wasn't lost on anyone. However, he quickly changed by the subject. "Anyway, Kirara—wanted to ask you something."

"Me?" Kirara blinked innocently, sipping from a glass bottle of milk through straw. "Of course."

"What does it mean if someone slips into a trance and starts spouting off random things?"

"...Random things? Like what?"

"There was this girl...I was talking to her during my extended vacation...and all of a sudden, her eyes became glassy and she started telling me things about me that I didn't even ever tell her, let alone _knew _about myself."

"That does sound strange." Miroku agreed.

"But why would you ask me?" Kirara frowned.

"Oh, come on, Kirara, we know you're--" Gingitsune faltered at the warning look in Inuyasha's eye, and she cleared her throat. Houjou looked at her.

"What?"

"You know, it's that female intuition. It's plain multiplied when you're a cat." Gingitsune lied smoothly, and Houjou's gaze lingered, but he didn't press her any further. When he wasn't looking, she and Inuyasha mouthed, "_psychic_". Kirara rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm no psychic or anything," Kirara stated dryly, "but it sounds to me like a psychological condition. Is this girl prone to such trances often?"

"Not that I know of." Inuyasha shook his head, making a mental note to ask Miroku later.

"Did she remember what she'd said after the trance?"

"No. Should she have?"

"It's not uncommon, but if it were, say, brought upon by an external force, then I suppose she _wouldn't _remember."

"Gosh. You sound so professional." Gingitsune marveled, and Kirara grinned.

"I try. As for your friend, Inuyasha, I can't exactly say. Sounds like she just drifted off and chanced upon that information."

_Chance, hell. _Inuyasha thought warily, surreptitiously glancing at Houjou.

"Ah, anyway. Miroku! You guys need to give your girl a spare key or something. The fool locked herself out of her apartment."

"Oh, yeah." Miroku grinned. "She sure did enlighten me and Takefumi-oji-san on your kindness."

"Kindness?" Gingitsune smiled patiently. "_That _guy?"

"Hey, I can be nice when I want to." Inuyasha huffed. "It's just a hell of a lot of effort to do it, you know...regularly." Gingitsune chuckled.

"What was the kindness?"

"Well, my airhead cousin forgot her key to the apartment, and Inuyasha was so nice as to let her spend the night in his apartment. Now, she assured us that nothing went on, mostly because Inuyasha was too pissed at her to do anything other than slam the door in her face." Houjou nearly choked on his cola, and had to take some time to catch his breath in between his laughter. Gingitsune laughed slightly, but she couldn't help but wonder...

No, no, that was impossible. Inuyasha all but hated the girl, and he only slept with her the one time, and that was only when she was transformed.

Why did she even care?!

With a shake of her head, she laughed a little more genuinely, patting Houjou on the back to help him breathe right.

"Not _that _funny, babe."

"Sorry..." He apologized, still grinning.

"Well, _I _don't think I was funny." Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms. "And why the hell would something have gone on?"

"Yeah, that's true." Miroku chuckled. "You guys can barely stand each other, let alone tolerate being in a room all alone together to screw." Inwardly, Inuyasha was relieved, unaware that Gingitsune felt the same. So Miroku _didn't _know. It seemed only the three of them did.

That was exactly how Inuyasha wanted it.

(Black Ice: Let's stop here)

(Blood Rain: Nah, don't be _that _mean. We've got a lot to get out. I think we can bear to stretch it out a couple more pages.)

"You know, this is probably no business of mine, but has anyone else noticed how Shouyou's been really giving Inuyasha the mean eye from afar?" Kirara commented dryly.

"Yeah, that's about all he _can _do. Gingitsune, you saw that ass-kicking I delivered. You said yourself he deserved it. He better not come up to me with that bullshit."

"Oh, yeah!" Gingitsune laughed uproariously, remembering that day Shouyou had stolen Inuyasha's journal. "_Damn_, you were pissed! And he was calling you all kinds of bitches and homos...! That was incredible, dude. I give it to you." She held out her fist and Inuyasha, riddled with smugness at Houjou's obvious discomfort and envy, touched it with his own.

"Thank you quite much. Hell, I'll go _over to him and flaunt my journal in his face_." Inuyasha smirked, making eye contact with the hulking jock as he tauntingly waved the book in the air. "Oh, YoYo! Come and get it!" He called in a derisive falsetto, making the entire cafeteria break out into laughter. Shouyou's face contorted into fury and he leapt out of his seat, stomping out of the cafeteria, followed by his ever-faithful teammates.

Though Gingitsune, Miroku, and even Kirara laughed as well, Houjou seemed not to be impressed, looking as if Inuyasha was _trying _to be funny.

_When just five minutes ago, he was over here cackling like a fucking idiot at something that wasn't even funny! This wasn't supposed to be funny, but shit, it was! _Inuyasha thought, irritated.

"I wouldn't test him if I were you." Houjou murmured, his voice so low that Inuyasha was surprised that he could hear it. After all, once the laughter had calmed a little, the cafeteria was still pretty loud, and Gingitsune had now engaged herself in a conversation with Kirara.

"Yeah? That a threat, _buddy_?" Inuyasha retorted lowly.

"No...consider it a promise." Houjou got up and left, making Inuyasha clench his fists.

"You—hey, what happened to Houjou?" Gingitsune blinked, just noticing her missing boyfriend as the bell rang. Inuyasha shrugged, trying to conceal his anger.

"Dunno. Said something about getting some air, I think. C'mon, we better get to fourth." He smiled, and Gingitsune bit her lip, before following Inuyasha to their fourth period class, vaguely wondering where Houjou had disappeared to.

* * *

Black Ice: We've got a treat for y'all next chapter!

Blood Rain: We are going to offer incredible, never-before-predicted insight on Houjou!

Black Ice: WOOT!

Blood Rain: So that'll be awesome to write...can't wait! I've been stricken with such new inspiration for this thing!

Black Ice: Whereas I still am at a transitional loss as to what to do for this new story we're thinking about posting...

Blood Rain: Plus, neither of us have been doing anything on whatchacallit...Servant Girl. As you may have noticed, citrusy content shall be contained within each chapter, so you'll probably see it on and/or .

Black Ice: Yeah.


	19. Transformed

Blood Rain: Bit more vulgarity in this chapter. But you knew that, didn't you?

* * *

Inuyasha knocked frantically on the door of Kagome's apartment, feeling extremely restless. Today was too urgent to ignore. A while after the day he and Gingitsune renewed their friendship, Kirara came to his house and had a _long _talk with him—about Houjou. Once she was done revealing what she knew, Inuyasha wanted to go and kill Houjou immediately, but Kirara advised him against it. She told him to wait a few more days to take action, and when he did so, to tell Kagome everything.

Hence the reason he was standing outside the Higurashi apartment door, waiting impatiently for _someone _to answer.

"Come _on...fuck_!" He growled, tapping his foot. Now he was certain of Kirara's psychic abilities, and he was extremely glad he had stopped Gingitsune from revealing this in front of Houjou. He only wished it were she coming with him on this mission instead of the girl who should be his worst enemy, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Before Inuyasha could swear some more, Kagome's father came to the door with a frown. "Is there a problem, Inuyasha?" He asked, quirking his eyebrow. Deferentially, Inuyasha bowed, murmuring, "Good day, Higurashi-sama...um, is Kagome home?"

"Oh, sorry, Inuyasha. She's in Sapporo with Nanako. That time of the month...you know." Inuyasha paled.

"Damn!" He mumbled under his breath, knowing he wouldn't have enough time to get to her house _and _tell her what he had to say _and _bust Houjou for the fraud that he was.

"I could give you a ride if you want, though, if you really want to go over there. I know you're, you know...like them, so it shouldn't bother you too much, right?"

"That's true..." Inuyasha mused, considering it for a second, then nodding eagerly. "Okay! Thanks, Higurashi-sama!"

"No problem. Just let me go get a few things first." Inuyasha went into the apartment and Takefumi went into a back room. He was in a rush, but he'd never honestly been in Kagome's home before, so he let his curiosity overtake his impatience for a few moment. The house was quite decorated—guns adorned the walls, as well as a large red rug above the white marble fireplace. It looked like a small inscription in the far corner of the rug, and Inuyasha went right up to it to read it.

"The rivers run red with the blood of my enemies." He murmured, awe and reverence coating his tone. This gave him a whole new respect for Kagome's yakuza father, and he now fully believed Kagome's words when she was transformed.

_I do love my father, and if he had even a drop of vampire blood in him, he would be pretty high in the power structure, but it's very unfortunate he was born a human._

_It **is** unfortunate_, Inuyasha agreed inwardly. _I would've loved for him to help me against Houjou._

"Nice, isn't it?" Inuyasha was somewhat startled by Takefumi's sudden reappearance. "Yeah, Nanako made it for me a while back."

"It's beautiful. I was wondering about the whole blood thing..."

"Yeah...not really my taste, but still pretty moving. Ready to go?" Inuyasha nodded and followed him out of the apartment.

In Takefumi's Ferrari Fiorano, the gangster said, "So...what's the urgency?"

"It's, uh...I guess you could say it's a _kyuuketsuki _thing, sir." Inuyasha cleared his throat, hoping he wasn't coming off as disrespectful.

"Yeah? What's Kagome got to do with it?" Inuyasha was relieved that Takefumi didn't take the tone of parental defensiveness, and instead had one of mere curiosity.

"It's really complicated..."

"I've got time. And the car's not bugged, as far as I know." Inuyasha blinked.

"Well...there's this kid at our school. New kid. I'm really suspicious of him, but it seems like me, Kagome, and my other friend Kirara are the only ones who don't trust him. My best friend Gingitsune is actually dating him, and she doesn't want to hear any negative things about him, so I can't warn her anymore without risking our friendship. Now I've got verification that the bastard is evil, and I have to rally together anyone who might be on my side."

"Yeah? Who's the kid?"

"Some rectal wart named Houjou."

"Houjou...weird name. Now, whenever you fight this little prick, make sure my daughter doesn't get too badly hurt, or I'm comin' after you, got it?" Inuyasha stared at his mildly amused expression, the young vampire completely bemused.

"Wait...hold on. You trust me to protect your daughter?"

"Of course. If Nanako can trust you, I don't see why I can't." Takefumi shrugged. "I mean, I keep hearing about a _teishu _for Kagome, and she's so confident it's you, so I figure, why not boost it up?" Inuyasha's face went pale cherry in embarrassment.

_Damn you, Nanako! What is with you trying to set me up with your daughter?! _Inuyasha scowled, turning his heated face away from Takefumi. _God...this is so embarrassing. She's nowhere near being my nyoubou, yet both her parents want us together._

And why would that be so bad?

Inuyasha paused to think about this. He'd never really questioned his disfavor of Kagome; he just assumed it was natural. Was it because she was only half-blooded?

_No, that can't be it. That's just stupid. No...it's probably because I know even deep down that Gingitsune will be jealous. Besides, I've already told her countless times that I don't want Kagome...I couldn't go back on that; not now, when we've gotten close again._

_But would she be okay if I did? And God, what the hell am I gonna do when I **get **there?! She's transformed now..._

A bead of sweat ran down his face as he tried not to think about how irresistible Kagome was in her full vampiric state.

_I wonder if she expects me to fuck her again...should I? **Could **I, for that matter? _He fidgeted uncomfortably, the pain searing in his groin proof of that very thought. Inuyasha found the situation even further complicated when he remembered: he was a man free to do as he pleased. No one would judge him if he were to get friendly with Kagome—her parents certainly wouldn't object, and they would've traditionally been the first obstructions in his path—and even if they did, who cared? Not he.

So it was settled. The best way to get over his annoying infatuation with Gingitsune was to like another woman, and who better than Kagome? He at least had a history with her. Hell, if the relationship lasted long enough, he might be able to showcase her as a superficial _nyoubou_. A smile on his face, he glanced over at Takefumi, then his blood ran cold.

_Fuck! _He groaned mentally. _I forgot...if Sesshoumaru saw her, he'd kill her for being a half-breed, then **me **by reason of association! Fuck, fuck, **fuck**...what am I gonna do about this **now**?!_

Thus, in a disgruntled slump, Inuyasha slouched in his seat and crossed his arms, scowling for the rest of the drive.

* * *

"Okay, kid—this is your stop." Takefumi announced, stopping a few blocks away from Nanako's complex.

"Huh? Why?" Inuyasha blinked.

"Don't like to get too close to that complex." He grunted, and Inuyasha thought for a moment, until he remembered what Kagome told him about the yakuza knowing _everything_. Takefumi was probably being watched, or worse—followed.

"Oh, okay. Thank you for the ride, Higurashi-sama."

"No problem. See you later." Inuyasha bowed slightly, getting out of the car and cringing as Takefumi immediately sped off.

"_Someone _doesn't want to get in trouble..." He mumbled, heading for the complex. When he got inside, a strange feeling of foreboding struck him. There was no one in the lobby, and it was unnaturally chilly, even for him. Absently, Inuyasha rubbed his arm and got into the elevator, trying to figure out what was going on.

_Something's strange around here. I can feel it._

As he got off on the third floor, the sound of angry snarls immediately hit his ears and his eyes widened. "What the hell?!" The sense of foreboding only intensified when he approached Nanako's apartment door and the snarling got louder.

_Takefumi did say it was that time of the month..._

Inuyasha bit his lip and tried the doorknob. He was shocked that it was open, and he just went right in. The place was completely empty, except for the furious noises coming from Kagome's room.

"Kagome, is that you?!" He spluttered, dashing into the room. She didn't seem to notice his presence, as her wrists and ankles were once more bound, except that this time, she couldn't get free. She was completely transformed, and much to his discomfort, naked. "What is wrong with you now?!" Kagome stopped struggling to glare at him.

"Do I know you?" She snapped coldly.

"Let's pretend you do." Inuyasha said dryly, not feeling up to explanations.

"I was like this when I woke up. I can't get out."

"Well, now, isn't _that _just a shame?" He smirked, deciding to unashamedly eye her body.

_Might as well take advantage of this, right?_

"How about not being a complete asshole and let me out of these fucking chains?"

"Hmm...see, there's a problem with that. You're actually a feral kyuuketsuki in the phase of transformation, and letting you go would be synonymous to, oh, say...letting a newborn run free in a civilized society." He emphasized this analogy with a casual wiggling of his fingers, if only to tease the subdued halfling, who scowled.

"Wait a minute. Didn't I fuck you, like, a month ago?"

"You make it sound like you fuck guys on a regular basis." Despite himself, Inuyasha had to laugh. "But anyway. I don't know whether or not this is good timing or what, but this is the thing. Remember Kirara, right?" Kagome stared up at the ceiling, her brows rumpled in thought.

"I don't think so."

"She's a psychic friend of ours. She told me some things you need to know about a devourer by the name of Houjou. Remember him?"

"Not exactly, but I know that if he's a devourer, he can't be any good."

"Glad you know _that_." Inuyasha grumbled, annoyed. Why couldn't this time of the month come another...time? She was no use to him so ignorant, and not only that, but if he told her now, she probably wouldn't even remember for long enough to do any good. "Look, if I tell you this stuff, do you think you can remember it when you're back to normal?"

"If I say yes, will you let me out of these chains?"

"...Sure."

"Stop lying to me." Kagome sighed, moving her legs. Inuyasha was momentarily distracted by them, before he shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

"Look, I can't let you out of those things! You're obviously in them for a reason: because you're a dangerous beast whose hunger gives us all a bad name."

"But I'm not even hungry." Kagome pouted, and Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow. "I mean...it's not like I'm perpetually lusting for blood."

"Bullshit." Inuyasha snorted loudly, and Kagome huffed.

"Here's a question. Why am I supposed to know this..."stuff"?"

"So you can help me kill the fucking bastard! I mean, you're the only one who can, according to Kirara!"

"Then here's another. Why don't you just let me free so I can _do that_?" Kagome drawled. "How the hell am I supposed to help you when I'm practically incarcerated in my own fucking house?!"

"...No." Inuyasha declined firmly. "I don't need Nanako trying to kill methis week, thanks."

"_Fine_," Kagome spat. "And I'd been willing to make it worth your while, too. But now, you can just kiss my bare ass."

"You know, what gets _me _is how unwilling you seem to be as your normal half-breed self, yet transformed, you're all over me. Then again, I am quite irresistible." He chuckled arrogantly.

"And conceited to boot." Hypnotized, Inuyasha followed the path of her tongue as she licked her lips, casting bathetic eyes at him. "Please, Inuyasha...let me go?"

"I see you remember me now." He murmured absently, her breasts all the more distinctive now.

"It's so hot..." She sighed wearily, the sheen of sweat shimmering on her skin becoming noticeable to his attentive eyes.

"I see that as well." Inuyasha moved close to her, gently running his fingers along her legs. Kagome shuddered, knowing quite well that he could feel the hot blood pulsing through her body.

"Touch me again, Inuyasha..." She coaxed breathily, and this time, he graced her with a few teasing licks of his adept tongue, right below her bellybutton. Kagome sucked in a harsh breath, her normally dilatory heart rate speeding to that of an Olympic runner.

_He's a tease_, she thought weakly. _Damn. This might not work as I planned._

"God, Inuyasha—ever since our last time together, I've been yearning to feel you inside me again."

"Have you, now?" Inuyasha chuckled lustfully, trailing his tongue up her stomach and atop a plump breast, kissing a nipple. Kagome whimpered, feeling moist. "Now, you wouldn't be saying that just so I would...unchain you, would you? Because you may not know this, but I'm an improvisational man, not to mention extremely kinky. I can fuck you in this chains."

"But that's no fun for me!" Kagome protested, her voice shaky when Inuyasha blew on one of her erect buttons after having sucked it.

"Did I mention that I'm selfish as well?" He grinned devilishly, and she growled, the sound morphing into a content purr as Inuyasha licked the sensitive dip of her neck.

"You b-bastard," she stammered, goosebumps spreading over her chilled skin.

"So complimentary." He replied smoothly, stripping himself of his clothes. It had been so long since the last time Kagome was properly laid, she was in awe of his rippling muscles all over again. However, she had the feeling that no matter how many times she saw him naked, she would never be irreverent about it. Her hands, idle for so long, itched to reach out and grip him, if only to know what he felt like.

"And you...still don't want to let me go?" Kagome swallowed thickly.

"I might consider it." He shrugged, climbing on top of her with the grace of a slender cat, not with the heavy clumsiness of a human man his weight and stature. "But I doubt it." He breathed in her slightly pointed ear, but she was unsure of what to concentrate on—his tantalizing breath, or his extraordinary length heating her thigh. Kagome felt as thought she might actually come, even with such little provocation; he just exuded some obstinate sexual influence that she could never hope to understand. She was glad she hadn't been so sensitive the last time they "met", or she probably wouldn't be enjoying this moment so thoroughly.

"I just...I wanted to pleasure _you_, that's all..." Kagome whispered shyly. Inuyasha quirked a coolly disinterested eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"It's not everyday I come across a demigod like you." Grinning egotistically, he flexed his muscles, the movement making his member twitch against Kagome's flesh.

_That's right, eat it up. _Kagome thought wickedly, knowing he was just that much closer to setting her free. Then she would kill him and partake of his heated blood. _I just have to keep stroking his ego...lull him into a false sense of security. The overinflated lummox will give me pleasure, as well as sustenance. _She licked her lips in anticipation, but Inuyasha mistook it for unabated lust.

"That _is _true," Inuyasha nodded, abruptly shoving into her tight entrance, immediately filling her all the way. She cried out, pain overshadowing the pleasure. "So we should really make this last." In stark contrast to his previous roughness, Inuyasha pulled out of her at an agonizingly slow pace, possibly to alleviate her throbbing ache.

_Or drive me insane! _Kagome snarled mentally.

"So. Tell me the truth. Did that hurt as much as I anticipated it would? Keep in mind, I mean entirely on your part. It was absolute bliss on mine."

"Hurt?" Kagome bit her lip, feigning incredulousness, and with an amused chuckle, Inuyasha entered her much more gently this time. "That felt so good, I wanted to cry."

_Well, at least **that **part's true_, she thought querulously, somehow feeling he'd hurt her on purpose.

"Is that so? Then I'd like to suggest you start winding up those tear ducts." He waggled his eyebrows mischievously, and before Kagome could avidly protest, he'd thrust hard into her again.

_Damn you, you son-of-a-bitch! _

"I—Inuyasha, um, why don't we just do this the normal way?" Kagome laughed uneasily. If he kept doing this, she would split into two!

"I do love a proud woman. But it's just you and I here. You can admit it hurts." Inuyasha cooed, and Kagome scowled, never liking to be perceived as weak.

"There's nothing to admit. I'm just not used to this kind of kinkiness. But far be it from me to stop you when you're on a roll...do your worst." She replied nervelessly, and Inuyasha grinned.

"Thanks for the permission." And with that, he commenced rocking steadily against her hips, her moans of pleasure music to his ears.

* * *

Black Ice: (Grins) Long limey chapter!

Blood Rain: Written predominantly by _me. _(smirks)

Black Ice: (rolls eyes) Whatever...


	20. Kiss

Kagome had never been enraged, ecstatic, and exhausted all at the same time. She lay sweating, still chained, as Inuyasha, who seemed to have neverending stamina, drew lazy circles up her left arm, the arm closest to him. She'd completely forgotten everything before this intense fuck, especially the whole reason she'd done it in the first place—aside from the fact that she was horny, anyway.

With a sigh, her head leaned to the side, away from Inuyasha, but this seemingly inconsequential action turned out to be the luckiest of his time here. This way, he couldn't see her eyes widen in shock—and thus wouldn't get suspicious—as he moved his claw into the keyhole of her cuffs, probably thinking she was asleep.

_The sly bastard! _She thought moderately happily. _He was going to free me in my sleep! He probably thinks I wouldn't be a problem like that..._ Her eyes narrowed triumphantly and a malicious smirk formed on her face, though she tried her best not to let her jubliance seep into her otherwise clear scent. Immediately after her wrist was free, she clasped her fingers tightly around Inuyasha's neck, taking advantage of his momentary shock to snap free of the other three hindrances.

Kagome laughed menacingly, waggling her eyebrows as she straddled, then strangulated him. "Oh, you naughty, naughty boy." She chuckled, her voice low and mockingly seductive. Inuyasha stared up at her impassively—_not for long_, she mused, licking her lips anxiously as she thought of how delicious his blood would taste. "All that teasing, and look who's on the submissive end of the rope now."

"Are you quite done?"

"I'm going to _bathe _in your blood."

"I'm not sure I have that much. Now are you done?" Sighing in annoyance that he hadn't died yet, she nodded. "Good." She never saw his arm wind back. In moments, she was smacked into the locked wooden door, grunting at the pain of the many scars of his uncontrollable claws raking her back. Inuyasha got onto his feet, crossing his arms as she snarled, moving to attack him again. He merely dodged her, letting her claws unintentionally tear up her own bed. "You move like a newborn, and think like one as well." Inuyasha scoffed, angering the girl even further. But instead of attacking, Kagome stood there, poised furiously, her mind reeling.

_What the hell?! Why isn't he dead?! Did the bastard expect this of me all along?!_

"You're so _predictable_." Inuyasha chuckled. "Be serious, now. Do you _really _think I'd just let you go free and not expect something like this of you?"

"You're enough of an idiot to prove me right!" Kagome barked. "Just because, for once, you had the insight to throw me off, don't think I'm fucking "_predictable_"!"

"Look, if this is about your being hungry, I'll get you something to eat." Inuyasha reasoned. "I wouldn't be enough to satiate you, and we both know it. Your first priority was much too obviously sexual gratification—tell me I'm wrong." Kagome's tense shoulders relaxed only slightly.

"You're wrong." She mumbled, but Inuyasha had won and she knew it. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Ah, but you're hungry." He teased. "Listen. Do you even remember why I came here?"

"Horny." Kagome shrugged, cocking her eyebrow.

"Well...yes, that, but I initially came to tell you some important information that I don't think you can handle right now. So this is my proposal. Come with me and stay at my apartment until you turn back to normal. That way, I can keep track of you and your feeding habits, and you won't have to spend your time here, chained up like a wild animal."

"I don't know about all that. How do I know you won't rape me or something?" Inuyasha stared at her, mildly startled, then he noticed the glint of amusement in her eyes and laughed.

"Like you wouldn't welcome it."

"True enough." Kagome smirked, and raked a hand through her hair, musing. "Well...I suppose it wouldn't hurt. I could leave my traitorous mother a note."

"Why traitorous?" Inuyasha grinned, pulling on his clothes.

"She's got to the one who chained me like that."

"Then...here's an idea for revenge. Don't leave the note."

"Why is that vengeful?" Kagome asked curiously, going over to her dresser drawer and taking out some clothes of her own.

"Let her worry about where you've gone. She'll have a conniption, and you'll have your revenge. Then later I can say I found you and you're safe and sound." He explained, then added sotto voce, "...and I might just get that screw I've been waiting for."

"I heard that, you perv." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Didn't intend for you _not_ to."

Ignoring the jibe, Kagome continued, "What is this obsession you have with my mother? I mean, I know she's pretty and all—of course, that's in the bloodline—but honestly." Inuyasha shrugged.

"She rejected me. I don't take that well."

"So...this is an ego thing." Kagome confirmed dryly. "I should've figured as much. Males are all alike, even the ones with an iota of sense."

"Aw, you think I have sense? I'm so flattered."

"I said an _iota_. And you're beginning to change my perspective on _that_." Inuyasha, dressed completely, watched as she put on clothing.

"I suggest you bring a change of clothes as well. How far are you into your transformation?"

"First day. But as soon as I started coughing, my insane mother drugged me with cough medicine and, apparently, then practically hogtied me."

"So how much longer do you think you have?"

"I guess the rest of the week."

"Wonderful." Once she was completely dressed, in a low-cut, black cotton muscle shirt, and a pair of red polyester-cotton short-shorts. "Uh...you sure you wanna go out looking like that? It's a little chilly out."

"So?" Kagome shrugged. "It's not like the cold bothers me."

"Okay...I guess you're going shoeless as well."

"Shoes are hindrances contrived by humans to slow us down." She said monotonously, as though she'd been asked numerous times before.

"...Right. Shall we go, then?"

"You know it."

* * *

Kagome certainly received her fair share of attention as she walked along the dark streets alongside Inuyasha, licking her lips hungrily, her virtually empty stomach rumbling for all (with supernatural hearing, that is) to hear.

"How about that one?" She pointed excitedly to a plump man coming down the sidewalk, staring at her, obviously exulted to gain the attention of such a beautiful woman.

Amused, Inuyasha shook his head. "Nope...not here, not now. I told you, wait until we get to my apartment. Then I'll hunt for you."

"But why can't I at least _go_?!" She complained wearily. "I feel like I'm going to die of hunger!"

"Hey, cutie, I bet I could get rid of that hunger." Some stranger grinned at her, waggling his eyebrows. Kagome looked at him, then at Inuyasha, who merely shrugged.

"Do that, then follow my scent to the apartment. You know it, right? Or should I give you a piece of me?"

"I'll know it." Kagome waved him off, grinning back at the stranger with more of a predatory feel to her expression.

"Now, don't get out of hand!" Inuyasha warned.

"Alright, alright!" Kagome huffed impatiently, and he walked away from her. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to the stranger. "So...you say you can...satisfy my hunger. Is that true?"

"Sure is." He confirmed proudly. Kagome took a deep sniff of the air, salivating at the pungent aroma of his blood, the red sustenance that charged hot through his veins.

"Well...what do you say we...go somewhere so I can get my fill of you?" Kagome was something akin to a newborn, but she at least had the good sense to do this somewhere she wouldn't be seen eating. Luckily, nighttime further blanketed even the darkest of dark spots, so it wouldn't be hard to find some privacy. "Ooh—the movie theater!"

"You wanna do it in the back of the movie theater?" He gawked, then laughed incredulously, glad he'd been so bold with this freak. "Damn, that's kinky!"

"Kinky's my middle name." She answered simply, and the two headed for the nearest theater. Of course, Kagome felt mildly inconvenienced, but she kept convincing herself it would all be worth it to sate her undernourishment. She was so focused on this thought, she hadn't noticed she was moving until the two were actually seated in the far back of the theater, the emptiest section.

_Perfect_, Kagome thought with an unseen smile of wickedly.

"Okay, I'm ready!" He giggled giddily, frantically undoing his belt, but Kagome placed a cold hand on his arm, shaking her head.

"That won't be necessary." She murmured, and before he could angrily retort, she moved in for the kill...literally.

Having anticipated a loud, plaintive sound, Kagome decided to cut out the middleman altogether and bit into the thick vein of his neck, instantly silencing any sounds he may have made. The vampire woman nearly moaned in long-awaited rapture, reveling in the sweetness of the human blood she had yet to taste for so long. Greedily, she sucked at his neck, her frozen yet inexplicably soft tongue collecting every single drop of blood that oozed from the two large punctures she had created. So ravenous was she, she even violently slashed his neck in order to gather even more of the liquid she so craved.

"Heh..." She licked the blood from her face once she was done with a chuckle. "Seems as though my eyes were bigger than my stomach on this particular venture. That, or this man was just plain bigger than I thought. Oh, well." With a final lick of the corpse's neck, Kagome strode out of the theater, as if nothing had just happened.

Outside, she took a long whiff of the night, sifting through the many other annoying stenches to find Inuyasha's distinctive—yet peculiar—smell of thimbleberries. Once she had its trail, she was off in a blur of pale skin.

_What's also extremely weird, _Kagome thought absently, sniffing at her fingers, _is that I'm starting to take on that smell as well. Huh. Must be an aftereffect of all the sex. _She smirked. _After all, we have been having a lot of it. Ah, well—I'm sure it'll wear off eventually._

The trail, about twenty or so minutes later, brought her to an apartment complex much like her own. "Isn't _that _convenient." She murmured, walking inside. The first sight to grace her eyes—and she used the phrase sarcastically—was Inuyasha, leaning against the wall beside the elevator.

"About time." He smirked. "I was starting to think you'd lost control of yourself."

"I'm not an idiot, fool." Kagome replied breezily, approaching him. "I _think _I know how to feed without overeating, but I greatly appreciate your concern."

"As you should." The two boarded the elevator and Inuyasha pushed the button for the fourth floor. Kagome looked around, lazily surveying her surroundings.

"Nice place you live in."

"Well, you live here, too." Inuyasha chuckled.

"Oh? I never paid attention. I just remember going to my mother's apartment and staying there until I'd transformed."

"Nothing wrong with a little change...I'm sure you agree."

"More or less." She shrugged, and the elevator stopped. As they headed for Inuyasha's apartment, he grinned, "Excuse the current state of my residence. It may be a little...disorganized."

"Why would that be?" Inuyasha opened his apartment door and Kagome blinked. "This place isn't disorganized at all!" She huffed.

"You sound disappointed." Inuyasha laughed, amused.

"No...I was just gearing up for a real mess. Now here I am, in this totally clean house."

"I know. I meant my private library...it seems some human's been dipping into my personal journals." Inuyasha murmured, staring blankly at her. She snorted.

"What are you looking at _me _for? I have nothing to do with that girl's actions."

"You're just lucky you're not human right now, or I just might strangle you...kind of like you _attempted _earlier." Kagome scowled, crossing her arms.

"That would've worked if you weren't so godforsaken resilient." She sat down on his couch, flipping on the television.

"Admit it...you love it." Inuyasha murmured in her ear, suddenly right beside her. Kagome was instantly reminded of their intimate time together earlier, and it sent a chill down her spine. She turned soft, silvery eyes onto him, realizing his face was completely serious.

"And...if I don't?" She asked quietly.

"Then I'll be whatever you want me to be." Before she could express the proper amount of shock at this affectionate confession, he kissed her.

* * *

Black Ice: Wow. I just read back over this thing, and I was like...well..._wow_.

Blood Rain: (Grins) We are some horrible-ass people, ain't we?

Black Ice: No, _you're _a horrible-ass person. I'm the innocent bystander who had little to do with this chapter. Except the funny parts, of course...

Blood Rain: Forgive Ice if she seems a bit...well..._distant_. Her boyfriend/ex-boyfriend/complicated relationship member just came over. She's coming off of a high or something. I don't know.

Black Ice: (blushes) Shut up! God! You tell a bitch one thing and she twists it into a whole 'nother sentence!


	21. Hurt

_November 3_

_Once more do I find myself questioning my sanity. I haven't slept at all since I **kissed **Kagome. Just what in all the hells did I do **that **for?! She left yesterday, and I haven't seen her since. She is more thank likely just as stunned about that incident as I. To be honest, afterward, she just took a long shower and went into a deep sleep that lasted the entire time she stayed. I hadn't even known she was gone until I came home from school and no longer felt the telling presence of another._

_Oh, well. No skin off **my **nose. Or so I thought, until Monday morning, when I walked out to go to school..._

"Inuyasha!" The female voice hissing his name startled him, and he looked in the direction of it, shocked to see Kagome standing outside her apartment doo in all of her disgruntled, vampiric splendor.

"What's up with _you_?" Inuyasha frowned slightly.

"The hell if I know!" She huffed, flustered. "I woke up, expecting to look like my adorably cute human self, and I'm still my unbearably sexy _vampire _self!" Inuyasha smirked.

"Someone's got a high opinion of herself."

"But that's not all!" She continued, ignoring his remark. "I remember everything from my human life—Houjou, Gingitsune, even Kouga!"

"Oh?" This vaguely surprised Inuyasha. "That's good! Now I can tell you what Kirara told me about Houjou."

"No, it's not _GOOD_! I can't walk amongst humans looking this irresistible! They'll stare, and I can't stand all that attention!

"_What?!_" Inuyasha laughed incredulously. "How can you stand here and tell that boldfaced lie with a straight face, girl?!"

"I'm _not _lying!" Kagome harrumphed.

"Bullshit. You _love _attention—hell, you get off on it!"

"You don't know what I get off on, asshole!"

"Don't I?" He smirked again, this time more suggestively. "I happen to know for face that, aside from attention, you get off on your nipples being bitten, your toes sucked, and blood drawn from your stomach, of all places." Kagome colored faintly. "You're a total masochist at heart, though."

"Okay, okay! Jeez...I sometimes tend to forget we fuck."

"I guess that's easy enough when, after all, I _did _blow your mind." Inuyasha grinned, nudging her. "Now c'mon, stupid. We need to get to school." With a theatric sigh, Kagome went with him to the elevator.

"Any idea why this is happening?" He asked once they were out of the complex.

"Nope. But I'm pretty sure it's more or less to do with the reason I smell like you." Inuyasha blinked, alarm welling up in the pit of his stomach.

"What?"

"Could've sworn _you'd _be the first to notice." She shrugged, as if this was no big deal, but in truth, this was a bigger deal than either of them could fathom—in Inuyasha's mind, anyway. He leaned close to her, burying his nose in her neck. It was as if someone had taken his skin and pasted it onto her; that was just how strong his scent was on her.

"Uh...I-I guess it's just the constant fucking we've been doing, that's all." He cleared his throat, feeling uneasy, as well as unsure of who he was trying to convince, her or himself. Obviously, Kagome sensed his unease and asked, "Is there something going on here that I don't know about?"

"Nah." Inuyasha shook his head, but mentally, he was aflame with thought.

_This is not true. There is no possible way this can be happening. I don't **WANT **her to be my n... _He actually choked on the word even in his mind. _Fuck. I knew I should've stayed away from this bitch—then maybe Gingitsune would be with me now instead of the half-breed._

"Did you just call me a bitch?" Kagome blinked, peering curiously at his now frozen form.

"I didn't...say anything." He mumbled, cursing himself.

"Oh. Damn, I must be hearing things." Again, she shrugged, and suddenly, Inuyasha was thankful of her disinclination_._

_Great. Now my __**thoughts **__aren't even my own anymore. What a fucking gyp this is!_

"Seriously, dude, you seem pissed for some reason. If there's something I need to know, I'd really like to hear it now, and from you, not from another vampire." Inuyasha opened his mouth slightly, actually debating whether or not she absolutely had to know this, when he wasn't all too sure of it himself.

_Of course it's for sure, dunce_, he chastised himself. _You know your instincts are never wrong. You're just in denial._

"N-no." He finally sighed, jamming his thumbs in his pockets. "There's nothing."

"You're positive?"

"Heh...yeah." Inuyasha chuckled a little, then a thought, impulsive though it was, made its way through his lips all of a sudden. "Kagome, what do you consider our relationship to be?" She seemed a little taken aback by the question, but thought about it nonetheless.

"Well, I consider you a good fuck, and even somewhat a friend, but I don't really have an interest in dating you or anything, if that's what you're driving at."

"Right." Inuyasha grinned, but was only minimally relieved. "Wait—what's wrong with _me_?"

"Huh?"

"I mean...I'm not so fucked up a halfling couldn't date me, am I?"

"You do have your faults, Inuyasha." At this, he snorted.

"Somehow, I severely doubt that."

"That's one of your many issues, dude. You're so conceited, it's annoying. You should really stop thinking the world's in your hands or something."

"I...think that?" Inuyasha intoned.

"You sure seem to. I don't care how good you fuck—arrogance is a total turnoff, even when it's justified."

"Well, hell, if it's justified, don't I deserve to be a little self-confident?"

"Sure—a _little_, not as much as you are." Inuyasha pursed his lips, annoyed by this off-putting information, but strangely curious for more.

"Okay...let's say I actually value your opinion. What other so-called "faults" do I have?"

"You're prejudiced."

"How so?" He demanded.

"You just called me a halfling, like, twice."

"No, I d—it was only once!"

"Whatever."

"Well, so what? It's just a few things, and they shouldn't even count." Inuyasha crossed his arms. "How does being "arrogant" and "prejudiced" make me undateable? I ask you!"

"I believe you just answered your own question." Kagome replied smoothly, as they came to the school gates. Inuyasha rolled his eyes, sucking his teeth.

"Yeah, well, at least _try _to act normal, huh?"

"Have I ever _not _been normal?"

"I believe you just answered your own question." Inuyasha mocked, and Kagome grinned. They went into the building, deftly ignoring the stares and awed murmurs of their peers. "See, you big drama queen? You survived all that attention."

"What attention?" She blinked innocently, going to her locker.

"Oh, don't try to play naïve, girl—you know damn well you were getting stared at like a circus freak."

"A _what_?!" Kagome laughed. "More like a _model_, you jealous bastard!" Before Inuyasha could playfully retort, the conversation was cut short by Houjou's appearance into the hallway.

"_Kagome? _Is that _you_?" He questioned, his voice concealing something that Inuyasha didn't particularly like.

"I--"

"No." Inuyasha cut her off rather curtly, making her blink in confusion. "This is my friend, Byakuya."

"Oh. My apologies." Houjou's lips stretched into a thin smile as he approached the two, holding out his hand to Kagome. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Byakuya."

"Right...pleasure's all mine." Kagome faked a smile, extending her hand and mentally grimacing when Houjou kissed it. The bell to begin first period rang.

"I certainly hope to see you around later, Byakuya." Inuyasha's defensive instinct flared up at the implication, but he held in his anger until Houjou was far out of range.

"That adulterous fucker!" He fumed, while Kagome frowned at her limp hand, having lost the desire to move it. "How dare he flirt with you when he's supposed to be with Gingitsune?!"

"Well, be honest, Inuyasha. From what you apparently know of a devourer, is it that hard to doubt his fidelity?"

"Mm...I guess you're right." Inuyasha grumbled, crossing his arms.

"_Plus_...if I'm not mistaken, I think you were jealous!" Kagome smirked, taking her books out with her left hand; she didn't want to use the right until it was properly sanitized.

"You're mistaken." Inuyasha deadpanned.

"Aw, don't be that way."

"Actually, I'm glad the idiot made his way over here. It reminded me of what I had to tell you."

"Oh, yeah..." Kagome sobered, and her ears swiveled slightly. "Hold on, he's still around. We're gonna have to go somewhere he can't hear us." She murmured, and Inuyasha looked at her strangely.

_How did she know that? **I **couldn't even detect him..._

"Right." He mumbled, shaking his head. "But where are we going to go?"

"Follow me." Kagome took his hand and led him up the stairs to the second floor. They went into the double doors of the library and sat at a table near the back. Kagome peered over a bookcase to see if Houjou would follow, then settled back into her wooden chair. "Okay, we're good. Now spill all."

"Okay. So. Kirara is psychic. That's the first thing that needs to be out of the way. She confirmed that Houjou is a devourer, and a potentially dangerous one at that. Apparently, he's working under a woman named Kanna, to assassinate _you_." Kagome stared at him.

"Did you say _Kanna_?"

"What? Did you not hear me?! I just said this vampire is trying to kill you and you're concerned with names?!" Inuyasha hissed.

"No, you dolt—don't you remember what I told you?"

"...Refresh me." Inuyasha said dryly, making Kagome sigh in annoyance.

"_Kanna _is my father's boss." Inuyasha thought a moment, then his eyes widened.

"Now I remember!" He punched his palm. "I knew that name sounded familiar!"

"Of course it—dude, you're a fucking _idiot_."

"I'm not talking about what _you _told me, stupid!" Inuyasha lowered his voice before he murmured, "I've known Kanna since before I even came here. Or, at least, I feel like I have. I think I wrote about her once or something."

"Yeah?" Kagome rubbed her chin in thought. "From what I know of her, she's an enigmatic entity shrouded in mystery, but this might all link together in a significant way. The Kanna _I _know is the commandant of the entire yakuza, but who's the Kanna _you _know?"

"I don't know. And that's pretty crappy."

"Exactly." Kagome nodded fiercely. "Thus, we go to your house and peruse your many journals for mention of her." This idea made Inuyasha a little uneasy.

"Uh...I'm not all too sure I want to go back through all that." He cleared his throat. "I've been through some things that might stun you."

"Inuyasha." Kagome put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Remember when I told you that same thing? Trust me, nothing can shock me. So stop worrying about _me _and let's do what we have to do!" Inuyasha was still a little hesitant, though he knew she was right. Kagome sighed, biting her lip as a hard look crossed her eyes.

"Okay. This is something no one's ever known before. There...have been a few times when I was untransformed...that I, um, fed. From humans. And ended up killing them...intentionally." She confessed, wincing at Inuyasha's slack-jawed stare.

"_What?!_"

"Alright, get it through your system."

"Have you no self-control?!"

"Look, damn it, I was young and stupid! The point is, nothing _you've _experienced is a factor for me, so we need to just go, okay?"

"I...okay." Inuyasha shook his head, seeing her differently now—in somewhat of a impressed light. They got up and left the library, just as the tardy bell rang.

Just before they could get out of the building, a lightly amused voice behind them called, "Going somewhere?" Neither had to turn to know who it was.

"I don't think that's any of your business, _Houjou_." Inuyasha scowled.

"Oh, Inuyasha, why so hostile? Our kind should stick together, right?"

"Fuck you!" Kagome snarled, whirling around to face the devourer. Houjou's smile widened.

"Now _that's _an interesting choice of words. It can certainly be arranged...though I suppose that would conflict with my assigned task..." He hummed breezily, and Inuyasha stepped protectively in front of Kagome, crossing his arms.

"Then fulfill your task. I dare you."

"Come now, Inuyasha—daring? You've been around these humans for far too long. I harbor absolutely no ill will towards you." Houjou held up his hands with a chuckle. "I merely desire the half-breed." He paused deliberately for a moment, feigning embarrassment. "My, now, that didn't come out right, did it?" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, but refused to show too much anger. Kagome, on the other hand, was livid, and obviously didn't care who saw.

"Yeah? Then why are you with Gingitsune?" Inuyasha demanded, his blood boiling when Houjou shrugged indifferently.

"I thought she was cute. I figured she would be good in bed, and, well..." A smirk tugged at his lips, one Inuyasha _definitely _loathed. "Seems I was right." Not even half a second passed before Inuyasha's hands were tightly clasped around Houjou's neck, asphyxiating the grinning _kentanka_.

"I will fucking murder you!" Inuyasha roared. "I will snap your neck in half, you miserable freak!"

"INUYASHA!" He thought his heart would crumble to pieces at the sound of Gingitsune's distraught cry.

"Wuh-oh." Kagome mumbled, creeping through the double-doors. Luckily, she was unnoticed by any of them. Houjou landed on the floor with a barely audible "oof" and Inuyasha stared at Gingitsune's tearful face, a caught expression on his own.

"...Gingitsune..." He mumbled.

"What the hell are you _doing_?!" She dashed over to Houjou and Inuyasha absently stepped back, scornfully watching Houjou play possum, though he knew much better.

"He...didn't you hear him? He wants to kill Kagome...and he's only using you for procreation. He said you were just a fuck to him, nothing more." Inuyasha explained weakly, but from the cold look in Gingitsune's bloodshot eyes, she clearly didn't believe him.

"You just can't get over your jealousy, can you? This one time, I trusted you to be mature about our relationship, and what do you do? You make up fabrications to excuse your attempt to _kill _the one person who truly understood me."

"But I'm not lying! How could you not have heard him say that shit about you?!"

"What Houjou and I do is no business of yours, Inuyasha!"

"Look, I have proof! Kagome--" He turned sharply to the doors where Kagome previously stood and his pointed finger fell, flabbergasted. "No, no, Kagome was just there. We were about to go to my house and--"

"And do what, Inuyasha? _Screw _like the beasts you are?"

"This is too—no, damn it!" Inuyasha had never felt so frustrated. Here he was, trying to set things right with this girl, while the seconds ticked by, time he could be using to expose that contemptible bullshit artist for what he was. With a calming breath, Inuyasha shook his head. "Forget it. I'm through explaining. If I can't get to you, no one can, so...I hope you've had a good life."

"Is that a threat?!" Gingitsune gasped, outraged.

"Nowhere near. I've tried my damnedest to save you from this very outcome, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I suggest you consult Kirara—there is no more I can say." He ran through the doors, leaving Gingitsune hurt and vexed.

* * *

Black Ice: (whistles) Building up to the climax here, huh? And how about that election thing?

Blood Rain: (sighs, shaking head) Damn, yo. This is the first time either of us have ever actually been interested in politics.

Black Ice: Seriously—we've been following the coverage damn near religiously. We even tried to cheat and fast-forward the guide, but the results still weren't very clear.

Blood Rain: From what we saw, though, it looks like Obama won, but that's probably because we were looking at BET and TV-One.

Black Ice: And on the more subjective channels—you know, the Republican news channels like Fox News--, we haven't seen anything worth seeing, not even anything about _their _"main man", McCain.

Blood Rain: Perhaps Obama won? We won't know until tomorrow or so, I guess.

Black Ice: Honestly, we'd like Obama to win, but it's not like we had a hand in the process. We got three more years till voting time.

Blood Rain: Because be for real, y'all—McCain is a whack-ass jackass, straight up. We were drifting in and out of the debates last month, and that asshole kept interrupting Obama!

Black Ice: Yeah; nobody would like him if he got ghetto on McCain's ass.

Blood Rain: But once more, we have to be indifferent. Whoever wins, they just win. If Obama wins, yay. If McCain wins...eh, the economy's already shot to hell. Why not pop a few more caps in America's ass?

Black Ice: (laughs obnoxiously) McCain's got the gun, but Obama's got the tweezers! Pluck, Obama, pluck!

Blood Rain: Shh! We're supposed to be impartial!

Black Ice: Right, right...sorry to all y'all Republicans out there. ^^ (whispers) Go, B-Rock!

Blood Rain: (glares)


	22. Caught

Black Ice: AGH! (groans like Charlie Brown)

Blood Rain: Computer was having problems for a good fortnight, leaving us technologically crippled.

Black Ice: For Christ's sakes, I had to charge my iPod in the school library! _SCHOOL! _Where iPods are not a-llowed! God!

Blood Rain: She's traumatized. But she'll get over it. In the meantime, expect an onslaught of new stories sometime...I don't know if it'll be soon, but it'll be sometime. We keep thinking stuff that doesn't sync up how we want it to, but we think we'll get it sometime. Just not necessarily soon.

* * *

"Find anything yet?" Kagome asked the sulking vampire beside her, as they scoured Inuyasha's journals. He grunted in the negative, and she sighed. "Inuyasha, come on. You can't brood like this anymore. I mean...you couldn't do anything. She seemed to have made her choice already, you know?" Inuyasha remained in petulant silence. Again, Kagome sighed, and went back to reading.

_October 5_

_My brother tells me I'm doing well in my practice of self-control. Of course, this doesn't surprise me. A good pupil learns well from a good teacher. He said that he would tell me something as somewhat of a reward for my efforts. At first, I didn't care much for information; I thought he might allow me some sustenance after having basically starved me for the last few months. Then he threw in that he would reveal to me the name of my creator. It's not as though I should've cared who she was, but hated her nonetheless for poisoning me with this disease of bloodlust. However, out of the sake of curiosity, I relented. Besides, perhaps if I knew her name, I could hunt the bitch down and murder her._

_Sesshoumaru said but one word: Kanna._

Kagome had to squint at this word, since the kanji for it was written so shakily, she could barely make it out through the blotted ink.

_Just this name sent a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts through me, accompanied by confusing memories that pulled at my heartstrings for some reason._

"Hey, Inuyasha, I got something." She cleared her throat, scooting over to Inuyasha's side. Reluctantly, he looked on with her.

_Suddenly, I remembered all kinds of strange things: stolen kisses, passionate moments, a feeling of betrayal... I remembered the palefaced woman, morphing from a normal human to something akin to the abomination I now was. Was this woman "Kanna"? What was my relationship with her. Were we...in "love"?_

_If that was true, then why did she afflict me so? Had I done something to incense her? And if I did, what was it?_

_So many questions plagued my mind, and only one thing was said. My body aches as though I have been running for miles on end without an inkling of rest. I hope it's just my hunger taking its toll on me, and not the feelings invoked by this Kanna, whatever they may be._

The two looked at each other. "So you must have had a courtship with Kanna before you were transformed..." Kagome whispered, awed. "Is that why Houjou wasn't ordered to attack you?"

"Probably. I don't know; I can't exactly say I know Kanna, since she was a part of my human past. Hell, I barely remember my newborn past." He grunted. "I could ask Sesshoumaru, but more than likely, he'd start asking a lot of questions and I'd be in a fuck of a lot of trouble."

"Yeah, I guess. Guilt by association, right?"

"Nothing else."

"So let's see how this all links up. My mother and your brother, Sesshoumaru, know each other—hey, that rhymes—and you and your brother know my father's boss, Kanna. Houjou is a subordinate of Kanna, both of whom are trying to kill me. The only reason _I _was even born is because Kanna sent my father to kill my mother..." Kagome trailed off, her face scrunched in thought. "Wait. You said Kirara was psychic, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Is it possible for a vampire to be psychic?" Inuyasha actually thought about this for a moment.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"Do you know if Kanna was a devourer or not?"

"...No, not really."

"You're just chockful of information, aren't you, Inuyasha?" Kagome mumbled dryly, shaking her head. He chuckled a little, and startled her by laying his head on her lap. Before she could question this strange behavior, he asked, "Is that the only thing about her you could find?"

"Well, I don't see _your _lazy ass looking!"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, that's all...but your journals are highly interesting. They're like stories."

"Is that the reason you read them so attentively?"

"Well...it doesn't hurt to know your past, right?"

"...Hmm. You know, I agree. So tell me about _yours_."

"Huh?" Kagome blinked.

"You heard me. I'm absolutely _dying _to know about the life of a halfie." He drawled sarcastically, and Kagome idly scratched her neck.

"It's not like there's much to tell. My life's pretty boring."

"You mean your human life." Inuyasha pointed out, and she reluctantly nodded.

"Yeah...well, it's actually kinda hard being a halfling, even more so now that I'm aware that I'm not even supposed to be alive. My earliest memory is of myself at the age of three or so, when I had a nasty habit of biting my flesh. My fangs weren't what they are now, but they were sharp enough to draw blood. I used to deliberately get hurt just so I could _smell _my own blood—it was like a magnet to me. By the time every inch of me was marked up with either a wound or a bite mark, my mother had had enough. She then proceeded to wean me off of blood, but it wasn't easy. I couldn't attend school until I was about ten, because the smell of other people's blood attracted me too strongly. I was like that annoying neighbor cat that wouldn't leave everyone alone, you know?" Inuyasha nodded, mildly fascinated with this account.

"So I kicked my blood habit and settled for normal human food—fruits, vegetables, that kind of thing." He wrinkled his nose, disgusted.

"Sounds more like _rabbit _food to me." Kagome grinned.

"That's exactly what I thought, so I protested initially. Then my mother sat me down and explained to me just what was "wrong" with me. Just like you used to think, according to your journals, I believed it was a horrible curse. Craving blood on a perpetual basis—that's almost as bad as _losing _it on a perpetual basis." Inuyasha blinked, confused, until Kagome shook her head, chuckling, "It's a reference to menstruation."

"Oh. Oh! Ew!" Inuyasha gagged.

"Yeah, well, you don't have to hear anymore about it, because you _still _owe _me _a story."

"A what?" He quirked an eyebrow, bored again.

"Don't you remember? You still haven't told me why you dislike being called feminine!"

"Because I'm fucking _not_!" Inuyasha groaned, annoyed that they'd gotten back to _this _again. "I mean, damn! I don't call _you _a murderer, do I?!" Suddenly, Kagome went rigid, and turned her head, her eyes distant. Inuyasha stared at her, wondering what he'd said wrong. "I-I said I _don't _call you a murderer. That means you're _not _one. Remember?" His attempt at a joke was met with silence. "Okay, _now _what is it?" He huffed in exasperation. "You act like some serial killer or something! I mean, it's what we _do_, Kagome. It's just nature. We don't do it because we like it or anything; we just do it because we have to in order to survive."

"Says you." Kagome mumbled, her voice low with contempt—for whom, Inuyasha couldn't tell. "Another chunk of my gruesome past that I've neglected to mention is that on my earlier transformed days, I escaped my mother and went on a killing spree to satiate my bloodlust."

"Well...that's nothing special. We've all done it." Inuyasha justified, and Kagome locked her cold stare onto him.

"Is that so? Have _you _kept killing people even after you were full?"

"...Yeah."

"Fucking liar." Kagome snorted softly, a bittersweet smile darkening her face. "But I appreciate the attempt."

"Look. I won't sugarcoat this and say that's good or anything, because it's not. But it doesn't even matter anymore, because you've matured into something with some _sense_, instead of the newborn you used to be. Just like me." Kagome stayed silent, and Inuyasha sat up straight with a grunt, putting his journals back into the box.

"You're staying here tonight." He announced curtly, and this time, Kagome looked at him.

"Huh? Why?"

"Why do you think?" He retorted. "With Houjou on the loose, there's no way you'll be safe without me. Not only that, but I want to see how long you're going to be like this before you go back to being human."

"Is that all?" Kagome sighed dismally, not in the best mood after revealing one of her darkest secrets. She was starting to feel more and more like the abomination everyone said she was.

"If only." Inuyasha murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist and taking a deep whiff of her. For some strange reason, he actually appreciated how much she smelled like him. It gave him somewhat of a sense of possession, especially since the taint of human was at a minimum. "I feel like I might want you sometime, like in the middle of the night, and you won't be there for me." Kagome looked at him peculiarly.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that's so. In fact, that's very much so." Inuyasha chuckled, mildly amused. "Do you not believe it?"

"That's not it." Her attention turned to the small window beyond his shoulder, her eyes somewhat blank. "It's just that it was weird, you know, because I feel the exact same way." Again did Inuyasha feel the chill associated with his new connection to Kagome. He simply could not get used to the way she attuned so flawlessly to his soul, and he wasn't sure he ever could in the span of an eternity.

Determined to shake that from his mind for the time being, he leaned in swiftly to kiss her, before his passion waned with the thought that he might have to be with only one person forever. Kagome received his kiss just as fiercely, and suddenly, it seemed as though both of them were trying to hide from their own selves inside each other. Inuyasha, overwhelmed with a wave of desire, pulled her onto his lap and she shivered, his arousal chasing away her dysphoria.

"You want me," Inuyasha's voice, though low, rung throughout the small room, his lust intensifying with the inexplicable warmth their frictionless bodies created.

"Of course I do." Kagome breathed, leaning into his body as his fingers maneuvered into her pants. She smiled slyly when he tactilely discovered her lack of panties.

"Oh, you are a naughty girl." He laughed, his tongue dipping into her sensitive ear just as his fingers entered her. Kagome's breath caught in her throat, and she was, for some reason, grateful that she didn't need oxygen as much as a normal human.

"Must you tease me like this?" Kagome whimpered, spreading her legs as far as her jeans would allow.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Using your fingers...torturing me! This is so unfair, especially after l—" She trailed off with a moan as he hit and massaged her G-spot. "—l-last time."

"_Life _isn't fair, sweetheart. You get used to it." He whispered, blowing in her ear. Two words died on Kagome's lips just then, but she knew that if she'd said them, it would've ruined the entire moment, so she pushed them to the back of her mind and forgot them. However, she didn't have to say anything, for now a slight tension had arisen in the air, and the question was glaringly obvious: _"Have you?"_

Of course, he hadn't.

But that wouldn't stop him from pretending.

So he gave in to his primal desires. He fucked her harder than he'd ever done before, his claws digging into her back, as well as hers into his. Once both of them were exhausted, the sky beyond the small window had darkened, and they were too tired to note the fact that they were a bloody, sweating mass of flesh.

Inuyasha, his breathing shallow, stumbled off of Kagome's sleeping body and out of the room, hissing at the pain in his wounds. She didn't look it, but Kagome was strong as hell. Inuyasha went into the bathroom to take a quick shower, and as the hot water pelted him, his blood washed from his gashes onto the shower floor and down the drain, creating a sort of dizzying spiral of blood and water. He couldn't help but stare at it, his expression hard and worn, as he thought over the day's events.

Houjou was after Kagome, on orders from Kanna, a woman with an apparent connection to his hazy past. From what he could deduce, she had been the one to make him into the monster he was. Another reason he should hate her. But there was no going back; he couldn't miraculously turn back into a human, and to be honest, he wouldn't if he could. Humanity complicated things. Vampiricism was sweet and simple—or at least, it used to be, until that girl came into his life with her many problems. Now he couldn't see which way was up, cursed with these damnable feelings of protectiveness for her. It would be so easy to just let Houjou have his way and kill the halfling, but he knew he couldn't do that now.

"Damn." He sighed, too fatigued to punch something like he wanted to. When the swirl had faded, his concentration broke, and he turned off the water, shaking water off of him. Inuyasha stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around him, going back into the dark living room.

He wished he hadn't.

Menacing golden eyes pierced through the darkness, fixed in a tight stare directed at him. The foreboding figure held an unmoving mass in his hand, holding it up as if awaiting an explanation for its very presence.

"You have one minute to explain this creature."

Sesshoumaru always did have a way with words.

* * *

Black Ice: OOOH! Inuyasha in _trouble_!

Blood Rain: I would say "forgive the late update," but it wasn't our fault. So just review and be happy we even thought to give an explanation.

Black Ice: Oh, stop being so nasty to the people. They were just concerned about us, that's all!


	23. Acceptance

Black Ice: I don't like this story anymore.

Blood Rain: ...Yeah, me neither, to be honest. But I think that was evident from the fact that we haven't updated in over a month.

Black Ice: Sounds like grounds for deletion to me...

Blood Rain: (shakes head) Yep. Doesn't seem like this story will be lasting for much longer.

Black Ice: And it's not even the issue of writer's block, really. We know exactly what we want to do. We just don't feel like writing for this story anymore.

Blood Rain: There was a time when we loved writing for this story; hell, we couldn't stop.

Black Ice: But now...(fidgets) I wouldn't get too excited over updates anymore. Sigh. I hate when this happens.

Blood Rain: Me, too.

* * *

It surprised and somewhat disturbed Inuyasha that his first response was not alarm, but protectiveness.

"Put the girl down." Inuyasha said calmly, securing his towel around his waist. His brother's eyes flashed with indignation at his impudence, sparking the tiniest hint of fear in the younger male.

"Is that an order?" His voice was almost mocking.

"No. It's a request." Luckily, Inuyasha did know how to appeal to his brother's better, more sensible nature, and his covert deference worked like a charm. Never flinching, Sesshoumaru let Kagome crumple to the ground, not failing to notice how Inuyasha's eyes followed her form, obviously checking to see whether she was alive or not.

"She still lives, little brother. The question is why." Inuyasha sucked in a breath, nervous.

"It's a long story."

"I prefer the short version."

"There's this man at school masquerading as a student, but he's...a devourer. We're sure of it." Sesshoumaru's eyebrow quirked at the plural, but he let Inuyasha continue. "He's working for a woman named Kanna, who we discovered was romantically linked to me. The devourer—Houjou--wants to destroy Kagome, and I refuse to let him." There. He'd finally acknowledged it aloud, in front of his brother of all people.

"Kagome?" Sesshoumaru spoke the word distastefully, as if the half-breed's very name would poison him.

"The girl." Inuyasha clarified, to which Sesshoumaru made a soft scoffing sound.

"As if I hadn't known that." He shook his head. "So. What is your connection to the thing?"

"First, I ask that you not refer to her as a "thing"." Inuyasha cleared his throat, and Sesshoumaru bored his eyes into his.

"Be grateful that I'm not murdering her instead of speaking to you right now." He intoned, and Inuyasha pursed his lips at this.

"Fine. I...accidentally made her my nyoubou." The look Sesshoumaru gave him actually made him avert his eyes in embarrassment. The next thing he knew, he was crashing against the posterior wall. Before he could even stumble to his feet, Sesshoumaru yanked him up by the very skin of his chest, snarling furiously.

"_What?!_" Inuyasha forced himself to ignore the pain ripping at his flesh and make eye contact with Sesshoumaru. "Is that why you smell like sex and shame?!"

"That's exactly why." Huffing a growl, Sesshoumaru dropped Inuyasha and turned his back on him. Inuyasha groaned, his vision swimming again as he woozily viewed the claw slashes in his chest.

"I'll be back. To see whether or not she is worthy of seeing the light of day." And as per his normal method, he vanished into thin air.

"...Fuck." He mumbled. He couldn't take too much more; that sex had worn him out, but he had to awaken Kagome and warn of her of the impending danger. She could either run and eventually be found, or she could be trained to fight. Sesshoumaru was as unpredictable as they came; he could return in a time span from less than an hour to next year, and God only knew what he planned to do.

Ignoring his aching body, Inuyasha approached Kagome's naked form and tapped on her jugular vein to awaken her. Her eyes flew open and she stared wildly at him.

"Inuyasha?" She stretched her limbs and yawned. "Wow, how long was I out?"

"Long enough for me to get in some serious trouble." He muttered solemnly.

"I don't understand."

"There's something you need to know, Kagome." Inuyasha blew a hard sigh, sitting down on the floor beside her. Standing was too taxing on him.

"Does it have to do with some guy that looks a little like you?" Kagome guessed, and Inuyasha looked at her in amazement. Her perception was frightening sometimes.

"...Yeah...how did you know that?"

"Had this freaky dream-but-not-a-dream; you know, the kind of dream that you know is real. You were in the shower, and when you came out, some dude was there and he looked pissed. He also looked like you, so am I right in saying he was your brother?"

"Yeah, he is."

"Figured as much. He totally barked on you. About me. I was flattered at some of the things that were said." Inuyasha flushed ever so slightly, as hard as his low blood supply would permit. Kagome smiled.

"Yeah, well, it's all true. Even the nyoubou part."

"A bit ironic, isn't it?" Still smiling, Kagome brushed a tendril of Inuyasha's hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ear. "You said so often that I wasn't, and yet here we are now, practically staring death in the face because of the exact opposite."

"And it's all my fault." Inuyasha shook his head, disgusted with himself. "I should've never even met you."

"If I were still in my human mind, that might've hurt my feelings, but I know better. Obviously, we were fated to meet. I can't say for sure why, but I know we were. So I think we should make the best of it, don't you?" Inuyasha cast a disbelieving gaze at her.

"If you know you're probably going to be killed, and there's nothing I can do about it, then why are you smiling?"

"I suppose it's nothing short of acceptance." Kagome shrugged. "But it might also be that I know you won't let me die."

"You know this." Inuyasha intoned, quirking an eyebrow. "And you know this to be certain?"

"Even if you yourself don't. Before your brother can even lay a claw on me, you'll put your own life on the line to save me. You can't live without me, Inuyasha—it's one of the consequences of being a teisei." Inuyasha couldn't help a chuckle.

"You're a lot smarter than I give you credit for, you know that?"

"Yeah, I know. I also know this—you wouldn't've inadvertently made me your nyoubou if you didn't have some feelings for me." She winked, and at this, Inuyasha smirked.

"And you wouldn't've accepted the claim if you didn't have feelings for _me_. So if I'm not mistaken, it's time for a little truth."

"Well, I guess for a pompous, racist asshole, you're not so bad."

"And for a naïve, airheaded bitch, you're not so bad yourself." The two grinned at each other, before swiftly closing the distance between their lips.

"Kagome," Inuyasha murmured softly, as she rested her head in his lap, "you know that when Sesshoumaru comes back, I might not be able to protect you like I want to. Aren't you worried or a little scared?"

"Why should I be? I know how to defend myself—if he kills me, he just kills me." Inuyasha laid his icy fingers upon her face, but she was not bothered.

"Damn, you're brave." Kagome smiled slightly, then frowned a little.

"Inuyasha, what would you do if...if Gingitsune died by Houjou's hands?" A dim pain burned his chest, but his touch remained soft as he thoughtfully stroked Kagome's face.

"I would probably kill him or something...but he was on my list anyway. Why do you ask?"

"...Just a question." But Inuyasha didn't believe that, for some reason. In fact, she seemed more troubled by this simple hypothetical than by the reality of Sesshoumaru's potential danger. She burrowed her head further into his hard stomach, sighing. Her closeness soothed his aching chest, replacing the pain with a serene warmth.

"Kagome, do you know what love is?" It just popped out. He hadn't even known what he'd asked until Kagome gave him a bewildered look.

"What?"

"Uh...never mind." He mumbled, feeling stupid for even having asked.

"No, what did you say?" She persisted.

"It's nothing. Random rambling."

"Inuyasha...did you just ask me if I knew what love is?" Kagome clarified slowly, and Inuyasha felt even more a fool.

"...No..." He said gruffly, but they both knew he was exposed. Still, in order to shield his fragile male ego, Kagome waited a while before she replied.

"Well...if you _had _asked...I would have to say, I can't say. I know what infatuation is...I certainly know what lust is...but love eludes me. I mean, I love my family, of course, just as you seem to love your brother, but as for the romantic definition, I'm at a loss."

"Yeah. Me too." Inuyasha said gently. "So you and I...aren't in love. Right?"

"Right. Together." A smile tugged at his lips.

"I like the sound of that. "Not in love together"."

"I like it too." Their expressions, content, mirrored each other, and Kagome drifted to sleep. Watching her for some time, Inuyasha felt a slumber-inducing serenity overtake him, and just before he went to sleep, his brother's voice, unbidden, floating into his mind.

"_She is worthy."_

Knowing he'd somehow gained Sesshoumaru's acceptance, he went to sleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

"You summoned me, Mistress?" The pale kyuuketsuki sat in a plush leather chair, turned away from her loyal and humble servant. Her slender fingers tapped against each other as she thought, an indication for Houjou not to speak until she did.

"Houjou, sweetheart..." She finally purred, whirling around slowly in the chair to face him. Even though he'd seen her face many times in the past, he still couldn't get over her otherworldly beauty. "I have an idea."

"Tell me, cleverest mistress."

"I believe we can kill two birds with one stone...annihilate the half-breed and get my teisei back to me." Houjou was careful not to let his detestation of her "teisei" show in any way.

"Oh? And how would you go about accomplishing that?" Houjou chuckled a little condescendingly. Her previous idea hadn't worked in the slightest: that lummox Shoujou had failed to lure Inuyasha to them; then her plan to have Houjou steal his beloved Gingitsune away worked strongly for a while before fizzling into nothing. Once that plummeted, Kanna was at a loss. Houjou couldn't believe how addled his mistress's head got with regards to that foolish vampire. Was he himself not just as good? After all, he had never been a human in his life—what could Kanna possibly want with _Inuyasha_?

"Don't scoff, Houjou." Kanna pursed her anemic lips together, showing her distaste for Houjou's lack of faith. "This is what we will do, and I am ashamed that I didn't think of it before. I'll just seduce Inuyasha away from Kagome. Simple, no?"

"...Uh...okay."

"I mean, I was certainly able to do it before, right? Who's to say it won't work this time? All I have to do is pretend I don't know him. That will hurt the halfling even more. Once Inuyasha has fallen under my spell again, I'll lure him here, and the bereft girl will follow."

"How will she know where to find him?"

"Don't be dense, Houjou." Kanna snapped. "We leave clues obvious enough for her to follow. She can't be _that _stupid, can she?"

"That's true." Something popped into Houjou's mind, something he'd forgotten about. "Say...what do you want me to do about the neko? She's becoming clingy and it's getting annoying."

"Hmm. I'd forgotten about her. She's certainly of no importance to me." Kanna scoffed flippantly.

"To the contrary, my lady..." Houjou rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "She isn't a vampire, right?"

"Of course not."

"But she is a demon."

"Where are you going with this, Houjou?" Kanna looked at him suspiciously, not particularly liking being in the dark about such things.

"The chances of bearing a newborn increase drastically when you're more than human, if I'm not mistaken." Houjou smirked evilly, and Kanna gasped when she realized what he was getting at. She licked her lips in excitement, beckoning him closer. Proudly, Houjou stepped up to her desk and let her caress his face with her soft, freezing fingers, feeling much like a pet who'd just done exactly what his master wanted.

"You're a good boy, Houjou...a _very _good boy." Kanna purred. "Mama's proud of you!"

* * *

Black Ice: I like it again.


	24. Interference

"You're living on an entirely different plane of existence, and you're worried about something as petty as _school_?" Inuyasha groaned, unable to believe it. "You think _I _care about school?"

"That's because you're already a dunce." Kagome sucked her teeth. This was her third day of being transformed, and she still wasn't quite used to it; she kept having random human urges every now and then and it irritated her. This was one of those times.

"Look, trust me—you don't care about it, either. It's just your human side coming out."

"Well, I should at least go check on my father. I don't know whether Kanna's killed him or not yet, and it worries me."

"You sure as hell weren't worried for the past few days. You've been shacking up with me in here."

"It's not "_shacking up_", Inuyasha."

"Let me think." Inuyasha pretended to think for a few moments, and Kagome pursed her lips in annoyance, crossing her arms. "We've fucked. We're fucking. We're _going _to fuck. And you're pretty much living with me in my house. Sounds like shacking to me!" He laughed obnoxiously, and Kagome narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're such an asshole!"

"You like it, though." He winked, reaching out to grab her behind, but she elbowed him in the face. A dim crunch sounded off and Inuyasha crossed his eyes to examine the broken nose. "That's real mature." He grumbled, shaking his head. "Bitch, come here and realign my fucking nose before we have to fight."

"I changed my mind. You're not an asshole, you're a child." Kagome kneeled in front of him and started fidgeting with his nose. While she concentrated on not breaking his nasal cartilage—even in a vampire, it was still harder to grow back than bone—Inuyasha redirected his attention to her breasts, plump and soft beneath that unnecessary blouse...that would soon change. He'd be damned if any nyoubou of _his _would be walking around in "clothes".

Casually, Inuyasha ran his razor-sharp claw down her shirt, ripping it into a vest. Miffed at his ruination of yet another perfectly good garment, Kagome swiftly cracked his nose back into place and he winced. She ignored his pain and stood, glaring down at him.

"Not so hard, bitch!" He scowled, though it was somewhat half-hearted; he was still staring at those pink nipples, hard yet so soft, just begging to be sucked.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I please!" Kagome growled, and Inuyasha licked his lips. By this point, he wasn't paying much attention to her words, but when she got angry, it seemed she got all the sexier.

"Not while you belong to me." Inuyasha smirked, intentionally riling her up. Sure enough, her silvery eyes flashed in outrage and she grabbed him by the neck, pulling him up to eye level.

"I belong to _no one_. Do you understand that? Not you or anyone else."

"You're my possession. I _own _you, Kagome." Now he was toeing the line, but he had her exactly where he wanted her. Her claws were piercing his adamant flesh and the expression on her face dared him to say another word. When he did nothing but smirk arrogantly, Kagome snarled in frustration and threw him toward the wall like a discarded rag doll.

Inuyasha landed on his feet, skidding on the hardwood floor, and in a flash, he pounced on her, sinking his fangs into her neck as a gesture of domination. He grasped her wrists tightly, though his claws didn't skewer her more vital veins, and with his thighs compressing her hips into stillness, Kagome was virtually unable to move. To be honest, she didn't want to, especially since she could now feel his ardent desire pressing onto her.

Nevertheless, the impulse to touch him ran rampant within her, and she tried to overpower him, but he growled menacingly at her, his eyes darker than usual—the first sign of his own transformation.

"Move and I'll kill you." Kagome wasn't so stupid as to think this true, but it was as close to the truth as he would get in this state; Inuyasha would torture her almost to death. So she stayed still, giving Inuyasha permission to do as he pleased. When he was sure she wouldn't interfere with him, he released her now bruised limbs and hovered in front of her chest, breathing on her nipples. His icy-cold breath made Kagome sigh his name as her panties dampened.

Inuyasha's tongue trailed a path down her smooth ivory skin, all the way down to the waistband of her frilled panties. He still couldn't fathom why she liked wearing those things so much. She said it "left something to the imagination". What did he need with imagination? He already knew what she looked like, and he couldn't imagine anything more he wanted. Smirking slightly, Inuyasha ripped them to pieces and started ravaging her pink button. Kagome's hips bucked and she gave a shuddery gasp, her juices gushing onto the red carpet, creating one more of the many other stains of their fornicating.

Naturally, Inuyasha paid no heed to this minor detail, and continued licking his mate's dripping pussy, her shaky cries and broken renditions of his name spurring him on. Kagome was getting so close; she badly needed something to grip, but every time she reached for his arms or hair, he would growl and stop his ministrations. She was forced to claw up the carpet in a futile effort to take hold of the carpet fibers. Then, just when she thought it could get no worse, he ceased altogether, right before she could come. Kagome stared at him in horrified disbelief. How _dare _he?!

"In--" She literally choked on her words when Inuyasha thrust the hard cock she'd come to love so much right into her, giving her a "full" sensation she could feel in her belly. Grunts and frenzied moans filled the small apartment as their hips ground together in a dance that surpassed time itself, the friction heating their coldblooded bodies to near scorching temperatures.

Their bodies trembled simultaneously at the climax of their passion, and Inuyasha was surprised to see sweat on their bodies. How long had they been at it? He glanced out the window. Night had already fallen. How strange—he could swear that had been their first orgasm that day, but apparently not. With a shrug, he concluded that the nyoubou-teisei bond simply sped time forward somehow. That had to be it; otherwise, his cock wouldn't be so worn out.

Not particularly caring that he was naked, Inuyasha walked out into the hallway to get some air. Inside was much too steamy for his liking. From the cracked doorway of an apartment down the hall, unbeknownst to him, the depraved Kanna watched his stoic and sinewy form lustfully, shamelessly playing with herself. It excited her beyond belief to see for herself how much Inuyasha had matured, and apparently, it didn't matter to her that Houjou was right behind her, his cold heart thumping hard in his hollow chest. He was trying his damnedest not to let his obvious horniness show, but Kanna was just too irresistible. Her death-inducing attractiveness would have been so much more bearable if she hadn't, in a moment of weakness, let him fuck her all that time ago. Now he was stuck on her, and in the worst way—forced to envy and hate the man who used to be his best friend.

Pushing aside the painful memories of the past, Houjou finally succumbed to his own sexual needs, requiring nothing more than the arousing sight of Kanna to get him off. It wasn't long before they both came, suppressing growls and moans, and Houjou threw a towel over the stain he'd created on the carpeting.

"And what was the point of _that_?" Houjou grumbled, annoyed at himself.

"I want to see if I can appeal to his better sexual nature. I've never seen the girl before—is she prettier than me?"

"Of course not," Houjou responded automatically, but Kanna merely laughed, waving him off.

"You're biased. You _have _to answer in my favor." That was true. Houjou sighed. "What I should have asked was something along the lines of...would you do her? Since you seem to be a mite picky and all."

"You want honesty?" She nodded, fixing him with those curious monochromatic eyes. "Then yes, I would."

"Ah." Kanna nodded, thinking a bit. "A challenge." A snicker forced past her lips. "I _like _challenges."

"Well, that's good." Houjou muttered, shaking his head, and Kanna grinned at him.

"That's why I altered the plan. Now listen—I'm about to go out there. Don't call me back, or he'll know something's up. Just stay in here, okay?"

"No problem." Houjou shrugged, about to tell her something important, until he was taken aback when she stood on her tip-toes just to be at eye level with him. Embarrassment burned his chalky skin, but he didn't recoil, as was his first instinct.

"Don't despair, sweetheart. Maybe next time I'll let you do it for me, hmm?" Her raunchy wink and quick retreat discomposed Houjou greatly; what had that meant?! The one thing he didn't like about Kanna was her constant ambiguity...

...And that was when he remembered what he had to tell her.

His already pale skin blanched even further, giving him a slightly transparent look. Kanna was going to kill him.

* * *

Inuyasha was about to go back into the apartment, until a soft hand grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"_What?_" He huffed, turning to face Kanna's gently smiling disposition. Inuyasha's face scrunched up in deep thought; he was still transformed for the most part, so he barely recognized the woman. "What do you want?"

"Oh...that hurts my feelings, Inuyasha." Kanna pouted. "You don't remember your old flame?"

"Flame, hell—I don't know you. Get out of my face." Inuyasha growled, but he was starting to get nervous. He wasn't exactly well-known, and he was only ninety-eight percent sure this woman was lying. The other two percent was quite silent. Was this a kind of test Sesshoumaru was administering? No, this wasn't his style...then who was this girl?

"No...I think I'll stay a while." She whistled, moving her fingers up his arm. Inuyasha was horror-stricken when he found that her touch seemed to be magnetic; he couldn't snatch his limb away from her! "Because, you see, Inuyasha, we haven't seen each other in so long...it seems like _years_, don't you think? And that's far too long for friends as close as us to stay away from each other." Kanna eyed his member with a wicked grin, still resting from his earlier exertion.

"Get the fuck off me!" He snarled, becoming angrier and angrier by the minute. What unnatural power did she hold over him?

"See, friends like us have a special bond, Inuyasha. That is why, no matter how hard you fight, I'll be able to touch you the way I want to..." Kanna nestled her head into his chest, cradling his cock in her hands. Inuyasha's eyes went wild with desire, desire he thought he'd ridden himself of, and he instantly got hard again. Normally, he would welcome this: an insanely beautiful vampiress, obviously with years of sexual prowess under her skirt, fondling him out of nowhere. But now he couldn't just allow it. He had a nyoubou now, one he was obligated by vampiric law to remain faithful to until the end of both of their days, and he'd be damned if his life ended today.

His muscles strained to resist the dizzying feel of Kanna stroking him, but despite the mantra he chanted within his head, Inuyasha was physically unable to repel the purring woman. He thought he would go insane, until she got on her knees and started blowing him. His hands bled with the force with which he clenched his fists; why couldn't Kagome be that submissive, at least sometimes?

"Fool!" The sharply clawed hand of his brother clasped Kanna's neck and yanked her off of Inuyasha, thus breaking the hold she had on him. He fell to the ground, breathing hard with wide eyes.

"Sesshoumaru!" Kanna hissed angrily. She hadn't counted on his interference.

"You have no place here. Leave _now_." He demanded, but Kanna laughed madly, repeatedly slashing at Sesshoumaru with her own claws.

"You forget, Sesshoumaru—I'm no longer the child I was when we last encountered! I can still--" Her frantic proclamations were cut short when Sesshoumaru plowed his hand through her stomach, leaving a disgusting hole in her body. Kanna halted, looking down at the wound, then glared at the taller vampire.

"_Fine_." She snarled ferally. "But I'll be back. _Houjou!_" Kanna screeched. Like a bolt of lightning, Houjou darted out of the room, picked her up, and crashed through the window at the end of the hall. Sesshoumaru then turned to his traumatized brother with a displeased glower.

"And you. We will discuss this inside." He grabbed Inuyasha by the wrist and dragged him along into the apartment. Kagome remained asleep on the floor, barely breathing. "Are you daft?" He scoffed in revulsion. Inuyasha was unable to answer, staring at Kagome. There was something stirring in his stomach that made him feel absolutely horrible every time he looked at his nyoubou, recalling the incident with Kanna, who he didn't even remember. "Do you even know who that was? Or did you care about nothing but your own gratification?"

"..."

"Answer me, boy!" Sesshoumaru struck Inuyasha hard in the face, prompting him to growl out, "_No_, I didn't know that bitch. And even if I had, I still didn't want that shit to happen. If I could have stopped her, I would have—and killed her, to boot. But I was...I don't know, _paralyzed_. She said no matter how hard I fought, she could touch me however she wanted. You think I wanted that repulsive cunt touching me? What the fuck do I want some other bitch for when I have a nyoubou already?"

Sesshoumaru studied his brother carefully. Though Inuyasha rarely lied, the occasions on which he did were phenomenally convincing. But no matter how much he looked for cracks in Inuyasha's story, he couldn't find any. Finally, he relented.

"Alright. I believe you. And I think I know why you couldn't move."

"Yeah? Gimme _something _to go on here. I'm at a fucking loss." Inuyasha sighed, getting up to put on some pants. Sesshoumaru made himself comfortable on the couch and said, "That woman you don't think you know? Brace yourself for this one. It's Kanna." A loud rip emerged from Inuyasha's room and he groaned. Sesshoumaru allowed himself a smirk.

"_Please _be kidding me, Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha called wearily, dragging back into the living room with a pair of fresh pants on.

"I kid you not. Apparently, she still wants you, even after I took you away from her so she could no longer harm you."

"Harm me?"

"She's your transformer. Since you were once a human, the process of metamorphosis is a painful and sometimes fatal one. You nearly died, and even then, she wanted to make you her own. We fought, and after that, she didn't dare challenge me." He scoffed. "Even now, she's still a weak child. Kanna gives off the pretense of strength, but in reality, your human could probably defeat her."

"She's not a human. She's not even a half-breed anymore." Absently, Inuyasha caressed Kagome's bare stomach, making her smile in her sleep. This gesture wasn't lost on Sesshoumaru, but he pretended not to notice yet. "She's transformed, and she's not showing any signs of changing back."

"Oh? Peculiar...I've never heard of a halfling becoming a full-breed simply from mating. Then again, I've never heard of a halfling making it to the mating age. I suppose that's what happens." Sesshoumaru paused a moment. "You're aware that she wishes to kill your mate, yes?"

"Yeah, I know. But this is the first time I've seen her. Since I transformed, anyway."

"What do you think about her?"

"I don't like her."

"I mean aesthetically. Aside from her many other faults, she's quite the beauty."

"She's okay, I guess. If you like that shade of white." Inuyasha pursed his lips, and Sesshoumaru chuckled. When one had a nyoubou, it was nearly impossible to be attracted to anyone else.

"Do you want to know something else that might shock you?"

"I think I'm shocked out. Just give it to me straight and I might not faint."

"Houjou used to be your best friend."

"...That's wonderful. My best friend's hurting my best friend. The irony's damn near fatal." Inuyasha mumbled.

"He was a human before a devourer. Once you were lost to him, he became a devourer because he thought he could then be your friend still. He developed the inane idea that you no longer liked him, so when Kanna needed help as well, he flocked to her." Inuyasha looked silently at his brother through the darkness.

"Houjou's the one who killed that woman you loved, isn't he?"

"Kanna has minimal physical strength." Sesshoumaru said simply, completely ignoring Inuyasha's question. But he already knew he'd been right. "Her strong point is terrorizing the mind. Houjou is the true physical formidability. Defeat him first; if you touch Kanna, he'll rampage."

"What, does he _love _her or something?"

"He does." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.

"That's so fucking _foul. _I knew he was stringing Gingitsune on. He even confirmed it. But it looks like he's only doing his woman's bidding! Fucking cowardly asshole!"

"You can always play upon his heartstrings, Inuyasha. When you fight him, boast about your relationship with Kanna."

"I don't _have _a f--"

"I know that, you impatient whelp. Shut your mouth and let me finish." Disgruntled, Inuyasha clapped his jaw together and kept quiet. "As I was saying...boast about the relationship you _had _with her. He'll become angry and thus reckless."

"Keh. I'm just pissed about what he's doing to Gingitsune."

"Are you _still _stuck on that girl? Don't be such a dunce, Inuyasha. You have a nyoubou—there should be no room in your chicken brain for another woman."

"I'm not _stuck _on her. I still consider her my friend, regardless of whether or not she wants to be, and I'll still protect her as best I can, no matter whether or not she wants me to. But...I have to put Kagome first. I know that now." Inuyasha said quietly, and Sesshoumaru stood, greatly content with his formerly wild brother's newly retained wisdom.

"Good. That's as it should be." He vanished into thin air.

* * *

Black Ice: Ah. Don't you just love getting freshly motivated on a story?!

Blood Rain: Yeah, we know you thought we were dead, right? Well, this is the thing: we went to Connecticut with Ice's mother for Christmas, primarily with the intention of retrieving Ice's savage sister.

Black Ice: (glares flatly)

Blood Rain: (ignores Rain) And, of course, let some snow fall on our heads. Where we're from, it's only snowed _once _in both of our entire lifetimes, and that was when we were eight.

Black Ice: Yeah, I remember that...that was fun.

Blood Rain: But the computer we work on has dial-up, and my mother won't spring for DSL.

Black Ice: (mumbles) Cheap-ass.

Blood Rain: (smacks Ice in the forehead) And Ice's cousin's house has no landline. Gasp, right? Exactly. But we're leaving tonight (January second), and we should be back home by Saturday night. Trust, I'm taking full advantage of my Internet.

Black Ice: And all these bad-ass children have gotten on my nerves for the last time in a long time! W00T!

* * *

Today's Rant: What the _Hell _is Hollywood's Insane Obsession With Dogs Recently?!

Blood Rain: I have two dogs sitting in my yard right now. I have no problem with dogs. But _fuck_, people, you'd think nobody's ever seen the damn things before!!! There's that stupid-ass Chihuahua movie, that hotel for dogs movie—nobody gives a damn about dogs _that much. Get a fucking handle on yourself, Hollywood. _And Eartha Kitt's dead now—I really did like her; did you know she was the original Catwoman?--and even though that doesn't have much to do with this rant, it's still pretty heart-wrenching.

Ahem.

The point is! FUCK DOGS! (not literally; there's a guy at me and Ice's school who did that, or so we heard) Nobody wants to see no damn movie with this as the main dialogue:

Dog 1: ruff ruff ruff

Dog 2: bark woof

Dog 3: aroo-o-o-o

Dog: pant pant

...Dude. That is _not _a storyline. That's just sad.

* * *

Black Ice: (pouts in a corner) _I _like dogs...


	25. Expectant

Inuyasha was getting worried. Surely he and Kagome hadn't had _that _much sex? She was still sleeping! It had been two days already; he knew his love was mind-blowing, but now he was concerned he'd killed or paralyzed her or something. The fact that Kagome's heart rarely beat didn't help him any. It was time to seek some help.

Since he didn't trust Houjou or Kanna not to break into his house and attempt to kill her (if, in fact, she still lived), Inuyasha gathered Kagome up and left the apartment. He was going to have to head to Sapporo and get Kagome properly diagnosed by her mother, even though the conversation would more than likely be somewhat awkward. "Yeah, I think I fucked your daughter to death. Is that what's wrong with her?"

It was just his luck that the awkwardness started as soon as he left the building. Who should he bump into but Gingitsune, getting up from a bench rubbing her stomach.

"Excuse me." He said evenly, and she sighed, looking nervous.

"Not today, Inuyasha."

"Whatever. I have somewhere to go anyway." Inuyasha shrugged, walking around her and continuing to walk. Apparently, she was flabbergasted at his disinclination to make conversation with her, and jogged alongside him.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought you said not today. I assumed that meant for me to leave you alone."

"I'm sorry, I don't feel well today. I shouldn't've been rude to you."

"I don't care."

"Are you bitter?"

"I said I don't care." Just then, Gingitsune noticed the vampiress in Inuyasha's arms, and pursed her lips resentfully.

"Oh. I see you have business to attend to."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you, and yet you're still walking beside me. Why is that, Gingitsune? When I wanted to spend time with you, you wanted to be around your boyfriend Houjou. You didn't _have _time. Well, now _I _don't have time for your faucetries."

"What the hell is a _faucetry_?!" Gingitsune laughed in disbelief. "Don't you mean _falsity_?"

"No. I mean _faucetry_. You run more hot and cold than a faucet; hence the term."

"That's pretty inventive of you."

"Gee, thanks. Now could you tell me why you're still around me?"

"Not really."

"Whatever." He repeated listlessly. Inuyasha was determined to have his hands washed of Gingitsune as much as possible (though he'd still try to protect her, of course). Her fate was her own. That was how she wanted it, right? "I wasn't lying when I said I didn't have time for you. I need to find out what's wrong with my nyoubou." Somehow, the term didn't seem as foreign as he thought it would when said to Gingitsune. In fact, it sounded just right.

"Your...nyoubou?"

"Kagome's my wife by law now."

"I thought you...said you were only lusting for her." It was clear that Gingitsune was hurt now, but Inuyasha was forcing himself not to care. She hadn't cared when _he _was hurt.

"I was. And then I found that I liked her more than that. She accepted the bond because she likes me as well. But I suppose that's uncharacteristic of you."

"Oh...I see."

"No, Gingitsune, I don't think you do see. Do you know what this bond entails? We're going to be together _forever_. That's quite some time, I realize, but I thought about it for some time, and I decided—you wouldn't be a suitable nyoubou after all." Inuyasha wanted to stop there, but some unknown force was propelling him to say more. "You're faithless, irresolute, and altogether flawed. If I had made you mine, the relationship wouldn't withstand a _day_. Kagome is a special woman, and I feel as though I judged her too rashly in the past because of what she was, but I let myself get to know her better, and now I think that this is the woman I want to bear my children. Do you see now?"

"I get it, Inuyasha." Gingitsune ground her teeth together, her eyes becoming moist. "I wanted to tell you I was pregnant, but you're too busy being a total _ass _to care, so I guess I'll leave." Inuyasha paused for a brutal moment. She was pregnant. Gingitsune was pregnant. And there was only one possible father...he knew the child—or children, God forbid—would scourge Gingitsune's body so badly she would pray for death, if by some divine intervention it did not come. She was strong, sure, but the pain was still unbearable even for vampire women. His prediction had come true. Gingitsune was not long for this earth.

"Gingitsune, I..." His voice was streaked with every emotion he felt right then: pity, pain, hate, and anger. And then it all vanished, replaced with a cold firmness of purpose. "I wish you a happy pregnancy." He said instead, and continued on his way.

Gingitsune did not follow him.

When he came to Nanako's apartment building, Kagome still had not awoken as he'd hoped. Inuyasha sighed, going into the building and knocking on Nanako's door.

"Come in" was the muffled reply from inside, and Inuyasha opened the door.

"Hi, stranger. Haven't seen you in a while. Thought you'd killed my daughter by now." Nanako smiled brightly at him from her spot on the couch. Inuyasha laughed nervously, laying Kagome down on the couch beside her mother.

"Um...funny thing about that. First, there's something I think I should explain to you..."

"You and Kagome are coupled now." Nanako continued to smile, and it was unnerving Inuyasha greatly. "And one night, after you mated with her, she fell asleep and never woke up. Am I right?"

"...Listen, Nanako, I didn't plan for it to happen this way." He started saying frantically, hoping to invoke her pity. "I really didn't. I honestly was just in it for the lust, at first, but then I found out we were mated!"

"Inuyasha, calm down!" Nanako laughed. "I'm not mad. I'm happy you're together!"

"You...are? Then how did you know what happened to Kagome?!"

"Because, sweetheart, it happened to me. I am a mother, remember?" Inuyasha's brain fizzled and he wasn't sure he'd understood what language she was speaking.

"What does your being a mother have to do with Kagome's heavy sleeping?" He asked, slowly and carefully.

"Kagome's pregnant, Inuyasha." Amusement made Nanako's bright red eyes sparkle. Inuyasha looked as though he'd just had a stroke.

In fact, he fell to the floor.

And stopped moving.

Nanako's laughter could be heard from miles away.

* * *

"Sorry I...passed out." Inuyasha muttered, feeling embarrassed as he drank a small cup of blood.

"No worries. Takefumi reacted pretty much the same when I told him." Nanako grinned.

"So...uh...she's..." He squeaked out the word "pregnant", as if it would kill him to say it too clearly.

"Ah, you men. So quick to have sex, but bring up the word "pregnancy" and you're such children about it. No pun intended...wait, it might have been."

"I'm no child!" Inuyasha huffed, then simmered down. "I'm just at a loss as to how to...you know, take this."

"Well, _I'm _happy about it, frankly, but I can't tell you how to react." Nanako idly tapped her claws on the side of the chair.

"I mean...what if we end up with something uncontrollable?"

"_All _newborns are uncontrollable, Inuyasha, whether or not they were born normally or created. They just need a good guardian to teach them better, and I'm fairly confident that you and Kagome will more than meet the qualifications." Inuyasha was quiet at this for a few moments, looking over at his nyoubou, who slept on.

"Can you tell me about it? I mean, what's it going to be like?"

"Certainly." Nanako's smile was much more eager than Inuyasha had anticipated, and she explained, "I've always wanted a chance to explain this to my daughter's teishu one day, but once Takefumi impregnated me and I saw I would have a hanketsuki, I never thought she would live long enough to have one."

"Oh." A surge of guilt arose in Inuyasha as he remembered his hatred of Kagome and her human blood.

"Well, anyway. Average pregnancy lasts anywhere from three to six months. The time can consist of any of the following: violent distemper, insatiable lust, occasionally hysterical sadness, delusion--"

"Whoa, whoa, wait. Delusion?" Inuyasha clarified, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yep!" She chirped. "I can't tell you how many times I almost killed someone, thinking they were out to get me! Ha ha ha!" Inuyasha stared at her and her laughter trailed off. "Ahem...but it probably wouldn't be that bad. Heheh."

"Right. Anything else?" Inuyasha mumbled.

"Hunger. I honestly cannot stress this enough, Inuyasha—feed her, and feed her extravagantly. You have to realize that she's eating for two. It doesn't matter whether the blood is human or otherwise; just make sure she gets enough, or else."

"Or else...what?"

"You don't want to know." Nanako shook her head, no longer in an amused mood.

"No, I do want to know. What happens when she gets underfed?"

"The child will attack Kagome's body and move about riotously until it gets the proper sustenance. If it doesn't get it externally, it succumbs to feeding on Kagome's inner body..."

"Which will kill her." Inuyasha finished gravely. Nanako said nothing, confirming his reply. "Well...is that all?"

"...Oh! No, I forgot about the petulance. She's already very easily annoyed, but when she gets heavier, you have to be careful. Other than that, there's nothing more."

"What about when she actually starts having this kid?"

"Bring her straight to me. Vampiric childbirth is...something best left to those who've been through it before. And then you may want to leave the room." Inuyasha grimaced, not wanting to envision that.

"One more question. Is she _supposed _to sleep like that?"

"I suspect she's tired." Nanako shrugged. "Throughout her pregnancy, she's bound to sleep a lot more often."

"Oh. So...don't wake her up?"

"Well, how long's it been?"

"...Three days."

"..." Nanako looked blankly at the nervously laughing man before her and shook her head with a sigh.

"Inuyasha."

"Yeah?"

"Wake my daughter up."


	26. Kidnapped

Black Ice: Damn! The response for the last chapter was crazy!

* * *

When Inuyasha returned home with Kagome, she was still asleep. She hadn't responded to Inuyasha and Nanako's careful attempts to awaken her, and Inuyasha had given up. Had they persisted any further, they risked incurring Kagome's vicious wrath, and Inuyasha didn't want to risk harming her or their child in even a play fight.

A goofy smile lit his face as he laid Kagome down in their bed, sitting beside her. Their child. _His _child. Though the possibility of creating a newborn was still prevalent, the thought of having a small child warmed his frozen body. Then again, perhaps it was the fact that he was having the child with Kagome that enthused him so. It was true that between he and Houjou, he was obviously the better choice for Gingitsune, but it couldn't be helped now. She'd made her bed and now she had to lay in it...with Houjou, he seethed mentally, then shook his head of the thought. Kagome was here and Gingitsune was not. Even if she came crawling back to him upon hand and knee, begging for his help—and maybe his body as well—he couldn't in all conscience take her. She'd betrayed and humiliated him. That was one of the most unforgivable crimes he could fathom.

Inuyasha knew he had to let go of his damnable feelings for Gingitsune—and yes, he would acknowledge them now; just not to his mate. Aside from the fact that she belonged to another, she would soon be killed, and besides _that_, Kagome was his nyoubou now. Even though it may have come about as an accident, he now harbored deep feelings for her as well, and he had to consider her welfare now, not to mention that of the unborn baby in her womb. It was his duty to ensure his child did not become a devourer, and it was impossible to do so preoccupied with another woman.

He was startled out of his musing when Kagome stirred, her eyes peeking open.

"About time you woke up." Inuyasha murmured, suddenly nervous. What if she didn't want the child? He hadn't considered _that _aspect...

"My stomach's killing me." Kagome gurgled, tenderly rubbing her belly. "I feel like I'm getting the shit kicked out of me. And some punches are being thrown, too, from the feel of it... You might need to slow down when you fuck me, Inuyasha. You're gonna reach my brain and tear me apart, if I'm not _completely _insane by then." Inuyasha chuckled, softly touching her bellybutton beneath her shirt.

"That might be true, but for a different reason. But first, I want to tell you—Gingitsune's pregnant."

"Oh, how lovely. We should throw her baby shower on the day of her funeral." Kagome yawned, and Inuyasha sighed, his shoulders drooping. Even _she_ knew what was to soon befall the girl who used to be his friend—_their _friend. "I thought you were over her already."

"I am. I just can't help worrying about her."

"Well, that's rational." Kagome sat up, pulling off the confining socks adorning her feet. "The girl's months away from an untimely death and you're worried about something you have absolutely no control over. Yeah, sure, it's understandable."

"Stop being sarcastic."

"I'm sorry." She replied tonelessly.

"I could always just kill the kid before it develops into anything harmful. Maybe make it look like...spontaneous abortion, you know?"

"Inuyasha, when will you get it through your head? You've done all you can do. You warned Gingitsune that Houjou was dangerous, but she didn't believe you and recklessly had sex with him anyway. You know what _I _think? I think Houjou got her pregnant on _purpose_. Even though he's obviously got a thing for Kanna, he settled on Gingitsune because he knew he and Kanna could never be, as well as the fact that it would hurt you because _you _liked Gingitsune." As she passionately deduced, Inuyasha noticed Kagome's eyes gloss over, and he recognized this as the kind of psychic trance she had fallen into some time ago, when she was spouting off things about him she wasn't even supposed to have known.

"Houjou is a devourer because when Kanna transformed him, he was consumed with hate and rage, angry that you had—according to Kanna—deserted him in the lowest point in his life, as well as _caused _it to happen, when his entire home went up in flames, killing his family. What he did not know was that both incidents were Kanna's fault: Kanna transformed you, which forced Sesshoumaru to relocate you, and she also killed Houjou's family. It was all an intricate plot to get Houjou on her side, simply because he had too much potential as a devourer to waste." Before she could go on any further, with any more shocking truth, her stunned mate quickly shook her by the shoulders to snap her out of her psychic daze.

"Kagome, wake up!" He said firmly, and she blinked away the gloss from her eyes. That was good; he was fearing he'd have to hit her, and if worse came to worst, she'd hit back.

"...Did you just hit me or something?" Her perception was eerie. "My head is _pounding_!" She groaned, pressing her cool hands to her temples.

"Do you know what you just said, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked carefully.

"...I said something?" He stared at her. Surely she was lying? But he could only sense confusion. So he just shook his head, mumbling, "Never mind..."

"Okay." Her stomach rumbled faintly. "I'm hungry."

"Let's go hunt." Inuyasha said immediately, jumping to his feet.

"Wow, what enthusiasm. Are you hungry too?"

"I don't want you to starve or anything."

"Oh. That's considerate of you." Inuyasha grunted in reply, but as soon as they left the apartment, he realized he'd stupidly forgotten to mention Kagome's pregnancy to her. With an inward sigh, he decided he should go about this as logically and rationally as possibly.

"Kagome, do you like children?"

"I'd be hard-pressed not to. Phaidron's a baby."

"...Who?"

"The child you implanted into my womb." She replied conversationally, and Inuyasha's jaw dropped. Apparently, Kagome did not notice this, because she went on, "Actually, his name is Kurayami, but he prefers Phaidron. He's yet to take a distinct physical form, but I do sense a rapidly progressing mental form. That's why I slept for so long—I was communicating with Phaidron."

"So..." Inuyasha tried to form words. She already _knew_! Hell, she knew the child's sex _and _name! Maybe her psychic prowess was greater than he'd imagined... "We're having a boy?" He finally croacked.

"Yep." Kagome smiled. "He said you might be a little....dumbstruck."

"He knows me already?" This was so fascinating, Inuyasha could barely keep the zeal from his voice.

"Not _directly_." Kagome chuckled at his excitement. "But he recognizes you as his father and my teisei through my memories of you."

"Phaidron..." Inuyasha whispered, touching Kagome's stomach. He was startled when he felt a sliver of warmth that he suspected was his son's hand behind his nyoubou's flesh. Kagome took his hand and held it as they walked.

"I think he likes you, oyaji." She smiled softly, and Inuyasha's stomach fluttered. He never knew his own father—and even if he had, he wouldn't have remembered him after his transformation--, but he was intent on being the best he could be to Phaidron. He glanced endearingly at his new mate.

He would be his best to her as well.

* * *

Inuyasha held his content nyoubou in his arms as he sat against a tree in the dark of night. Kagome—and Phaidron, of course—had had their fill of blood for the time being, and was currently resting with Inuyasha. He didn't recall ever seeing her hunt before, but when she did, she was mercilessly shrewd...and vice versa. Not a drop of her victims' blood touched grass; Inuyasha saw that, even laden with child, Kagome couldn't be slowed at all.

"Do you always hunt like that?" He inquired of her as she rubbed her stomach. "Or is Phaidron aiding you?"

"A little of both. He's very intelligent, but I get the impression that something's missing in him."

"He hasn't fully developed yet, girl." Inuyasha chuckled.

"I know that." Kagome huffed, feigned annoyance. "But I'm saying, even when he does develop a physical form, he'll be...incomplete somehow."

"I'm sure you're just being paranoid over nothing, that's all."

"I don't know, Inuyasha. It worries me."

"That's only natural. He is our son, after all." Inuyasha stroked her long locks of hair. "But there's really nothing to worry about. Phaidron will be absolutely fine."

"Mm..." Kagome sighed, and drifted off to sleep. But as the night wore on, Inuyasha was getting more and more uncomfortable. He had a terrible feeling, but couldn't quite put his finger on it...

"Inuyasha?" The voice was soft, but not that of Kagome. He looked up from her face into Kanna's, and she looked sad. Inuyasha scowled.

"Leave. _Now_. You fucking stalker." He said venomously, holding Kagome protectively.

"Wait, I haven't come to start any trouble." he put her hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"I don't give a flying fuck. Get the hell away from me and my mate before I murder you in cold blood." Kanna was noticeable hurt, and her eyes glistened with something Inuyasha didn't quite recognize.

"Please, Inuyasha, you _have _to remember the love we had."

"Fuck you."

"I didn't mean to turn you into a newborn. Please understand that. I just...hit the wrong vein in my eagerness, and then you were taken away from me..."

"Save that bullshit for someone who cares, bitch. I don't care about you, and if I ever did, it was only because you manipulated my weak human brain." Now he saw the glistening for what it was—tears. But that couldn't be; vampires were physiologically unable to cry...right?

"I love you, Inuyasha. Can't you see that?" Kanna threw her arms around his neck in a teary embrace, and yet again he was immobilized. Not come to start trouble, indeed—the trouble was just beginning!

"_Unhand me, goddamn you!_" Inuaysha snarled, his eyes bleeding with ire when Houjou leapt from the branches above them and made off with his unconscious mate. "_**KAGOME!!!!**_" What would he do to her? To _Phaidron_? His mind was reeling, but Kanna refused to let him go.

"She's not the one for you, my love, but I am, and together, our love will transcend her enchantments upon you." Kanna smiled, holding his hands in hers. They were much colder than his, and sent a chill down his spine. "Not even Sesshoumaru can break an everlasting bond." Inuyasha stopped struggling, horror etched into his features. An everlasting bond was even stronger than the nyoubou-teisei bond—if it succeeded, that is. The chances that it did were one in two hundred. Success was exceedingly rare, due to the fact that both partners had to have no doubt in either of their hearts about the bond formation. If even a speck of uncertainty tainted either of them, the bond was rejected, and the one on which it was attempted would die, never to be revived.

"Those don't work," Inuyasha croaked, nervous.

"Want to find out?" Kanna smiled slyly. He shook his head slowly, not wanting to provoke her into rashness. "Well, I'm content without it for now. But just bear in mind that if you start acting up, I'll have to teach you a lesson!" She playfully waggled her finger at him, and for the first time in his entire life, vampire _and _human, Inuyasha wanted to cry. His mate, heavy with his child, had been kidnapped by a half-deranged devourer, and now he was being held hostage by this _fully _deranged woman. When had his life taken such a horrible turn?

"What are you...going to do to her?"

"I've ordered Houjou not to harm your little whore," Kanna waved him off flippantly, and Inuyasha burned to say _she _was the whore, but when his life was in _her _hands, he was quite disinclined to voice his opinion of her. "So don't worry about her. I think I'll even let her come to term. Would you like that, Inuyasha?"

"Yes," he said immediately, hoping she was being sincere.

"Okay." Kanna smiled tenderly, kissing his face. Like the rest of her, her lips were soft, yet so _cold_. "For you, I will allow the child. I like seeing you happy, my love, and if that's what it takes, then that's what I'll do."

"Thank you." He was hyperaware that she continued to touch him, no matter how subtle. She was far from stupid; she knew that if she let go for even a split half-second, he would take the opportunity to either run away or kill Kanna. She wasn't about to let either happen.

"We can't stay here forever, you know." Inuyasha pointed out, his anger sharpening his logic. "The sun will be coming up soon, and...I know how sensitive you are to too much light." It had only been a random stab in the dark, but from the joy written all over her face, he'd hit the mark.

"You remember that?!" Kanna cried out blissfully, embracing him even harder. Misery guided Inuyasha's already dismal thoughts, and he began to think that Kanna might _never _release him. "Oh, Inuyasha, I _knew _a part of you still loved me! Yes, yes, you're right—I know just where you and I can go." Her smile was blinding as she took his hand and brought him to his feet, leading him off somewhere.

He wondered if he would ever see his nyoubou again.

* * *

Black Ice: (snickers) Now, _that _would almost entirely Rain's contribution. Just when things were getting all good!

Blood Rain: (intently watches Spongebob Squarepants rerun)

Black Ice: Uh...Rain? Yoo-hoo? Aren't you gonna step up into the limelight?

Blood Rain: (still watches rerun)

Black Ice: Hold on a damn minute. Every time _I _want some damn credit, you have to get in my way and hog it. Now that it's entirely yours, you don't want it! Bitch, if you know what I know, you better get your fat ass from in front of that TV and _get this credit_!!!

Blood Rain: Commercial! (hops up and kicks Ice in the teeth, sending her flying into the wall) (casually steps over Ice's body) I'm gonna get some graham crackers!


	27. Hunger

Somewhere along the way, Inuyasha went to sleep. He didn't know how, he didn't know why, and he didn't know when—all he knew was that, when he came to, he was in an extravagantly decorated room, lying in a large plushy bed...alone.

Alone?

He leapt up, his face shining with barely suppressed excitement. He was _alone_. By himself. Sans Kanna! The dumb bitch had slipped up, just as he knew she eventually would. It must have been his comment about the light that finally persuaded her to trust him. What a twat!

With so much glee that it should have been illegal, Inuyasha jumped off the bed and bounded for the door, not noticing the short note on it until an electric zap from the doorknob sent him staggering backwards, staring at his now blackened palm.

"What the fuck kind of sick, twisted shit is this?!" He bellowed savagely, wanting to rip his hair out. Kanna wasn't dumb at all. _He _was for thinking she'd been. Angrily, he caught sight of the paper on the door and snatched it off.

_Don't try to leave, "friend", or the girl will be seeing red._

_Best regards,_

_The Management (a.k.a. Houjou)_

Inuyasha crumpled up the note and chucked it across the room, wishing it would burst into flames. He knew a threat when he saw one, and fancily worded or not, that was a pretty severe threat. Looking around, he saw no windows, and the walls were wallpapered solid concrete, from what he could tell by running his hand along it. The ceiling was concrete as well. Kanna had made this room inescapable; a breakout was all but impossible. He felt as miserable as he did when Kanna wouldn't leave him alone, ironically enough, and plopped listlessly on the bed, burying his face into the annoyingly soft satin pillows. They reminded him of Kagome...

"Kagome..." He sighed, muffled. "Kagome, Kagome, Kagome...where are you?" It seemed as though he could see her mischievous smile in his mind as clear as a bell, her dulcet voice calling his name as he did hers.

_Inuyasha._

_Kagome..._

_Inuyasha..._

_Kagome..._

_Inuyasha...!_

_Kagome._

_Damn it, Inuyasha, stop calling me and listen!_

Inuyasha's eyes bulged out of his head and he jerked his head around wildly. Was he hallucinating or had he truly heard her voice?

"Kagome?" He whispered tentatively, wondering if he'd finally cracked up.

_No, you're not crazy—yet. But don't talk to me aloud. Speak in your mind; that way, they won't get suspicious._

_Suspicious? They? Wh—how are you communicating with me?! I thought Houjou kidnapped you!_

_Yeah, he did, but that fool just locked me up in this dungeon and ran after Kanna. I think he likes her._

_I **know **he does._

_A bit jealous, are we?_

_Not even. I've been worried sick off my ass about you and Phaidron._

_We're fine. What about you?_

_Depressed. Pissed at myself. I can't fucking **believe **I let that asshole take you away! Do you even know where you are?_

_No. The last thing I remember is going to sleep in the park, and when I woke up, I saw Houjou leaving. I knew it was him because he kept thinking about Kanna._

_...How do you know that? And for that matter, how are we talking like this?!_

_I have a mind link with you, Inuyasha. It's what makes our bond so strong. You've never noticed how I seem to be able to tell what you're thinking sometimes? It's also how I know everything Kanna said from the moment she touched you, as well as how bad you felt. And as for Houjou...well, he's just plain predictable._

_No, I think you're psychic._

_Always a possibility._

_So what are we going to do? The room's sealed off with concrete and an electrocuting door, and I feel like a caged hamster._

_So do I, but they're monitoring us—both of us. I was looking around, and spotted this tiny camera lodged in the corner._

_So? Take it out and escape._

_What an excellent plan that I hadn't considered upon my arrival. Yet there's such a tiny flaw, my love._

_...There are cameras in every corner, aren't there?_

_Intelligent after all, I see. They probably think I'm dead, since I haven't moved in eight days._

_Eight days?!?! How long have we **been **here?!_

_I presume ten days or so, but I've always had a terrible sense of time. I could be off by a week, give or take a day._

Inuyasha sighed wearily.

_How do we get **into **this shit?_

_I can't say for sure. It may very well have been ordained at our births that we be captured by two desperately mad devourers with the intent to kill **me**. You've got it easy. Kanna's in love with you; she won't hurt you if she can help it. All both of them hate **me**._

_Why do you think it's easy being obsessed over? I don't see Houjou fawning over you—although it'd be quite the extension of his already mile-long list of crimes. What do you think they're doing right now?_

_Well, if I'm not mistaken, Kanna's on her way to your room, but Houjou's still watching the cameras._

Sure enough, Inuyasha's pointed ears detected footsteps on the lust carpeting and he scowled into the comforter as Kanna sat on the bed beside him, stroking his back thoughtfully.

"You can stop pretending to sleep, sweetheart. I know you're awake." Inuyasha remained still and silent, effectively conveying to his incarcerated mate his hatred. He could see her amused smile in his head, and he sighed all over again. That smile...always with such hidden purposes. He loved that smile now.

"Oh, why so sad, Inuyasha? You know it renders my heart in twain to know you're so miserable. Is it that décor of the room that bothers you? If you like, I can have Houjou renovate."

"You know damn well why I'm miserable." Inuyasha grumbled. "So don't even try that bullshit." Kanna frowned sadly, and her motions stopped, surprising Inuyasha.

"I thought it would make you happy if I spared their lives..." Inuyasha turned onto his back, freeing his muffled voice. If he was going to do this, he figured he should do it the right way.

"And it _does _make me happy that they're still alive. But being without my nyoubou for so long makes my heart crumble. Could you at least tell me how long I've been here?"

"Only a few days..." Kanna murmured guiltily.

"How many, specifically?" Inuyasha demanded firmly. "And I don't want to hear that you "forgot"." His captor sighed in defeat.

"Ten. Ten days."

_You're pretty on-point with your predictions, girl. _Inuyasha thought wryly, and his next visage of Kagome's smile was rather grim.

"Now tell me what you intend to do with me and Kagome, or I'll take this opportunity to be dirty and kill you, regardless of the consequences." By the fearful look on Kanna's face, Inuyasha had sucessfully intimidated her.

_Nice fake-out._

_Thanks. _Inuyasha thought, satisfied with himself.

"You always did know how to coerce me..." Kanna smiled sadly. "You're here because I want you for myself. And she's here because I don't want to risk her getting Sesshoumaru to take you from me again." Inuyasha looked at her for a long time. That didn't seem very truthful, but he had to take what he could get.

"Are you at least feeding her?" He sighed, hoping so. Her thoughts were sensible enough for now, but how long would it take before she could no longer take the hunger.

"I don't know what Houjou's doing with her." Kanna shrugged.

_It's plausible. Houjou's the only one to come in here._

_If that's true, then she must not be monitoring you..._

"Tell that stupid flunky of yours to feed my woman. If she's cranky, it won't be pretty for either of us." Kanna flinched when he said "my woman", but nodded flatly and left the room again.

_Kagome, remember a while back when you started ranting about how I wasn't over Gingitsune?_

_...Vaguely...why?_

_You still don't remember what you said, do you?_

_Not particularly. Again, why?_

_I have an idea. But first, I have something to tell you..._

* * *

"You seem happier." Kanna commented with a smile when she came back into the Inuyasha's room a few days later.

"I _am _happier." Inuyasha smirked. "Houjou came in to inform me that he was feeding Kagome. My son's a growing fetus, you know; can't have him starving to death, right?"

"Indeed." Her smile became more tight-lipped.

"But he said something else that disturbed me, Kanna."

"...Oh?" Kanna blinked, cocking her head to the side.

_Ready, Kagome?_

_He's on his way now...I'm hungry._

_Just hold on a moment, okay?_

"And what might that have been?" Kanna questioned.

"He said something along the lines of..."You're lucky, asshole. If it were up to me, I'd bash your brains against this concrete. But Kanna loves you, and I can't imagine how she could feel for a callous murderer like you." What exactly does that mean? I'm almost certain he's killed more than I." Kanna looked a bit nervous, especially under Inuyasha's critical stare.

"Well, Kanna? Do you have an answer or should I find some way to ask him myself?"

"I...I..." Her lip trembled, before she dropped to her knees, sobbing. "Okay, _fine_! But I only tell you this because I know he doesn't monitor this room..." Kanna inhaled shakily. "You don't know the whole story, do you? Of how Houjou and I met."

"Enlighten me."

"Well...I knew I couldn't get you back alone, so I enlisted help...particularly Houjou's. Who better than your best friend? He was sad—you'd just been carted off by that irritating brother of yours, but sad wasn't what I desired. I needed him to be angry, motivated to help me find you. So I burned down his entire village and...blamed it...on you."

"Oh, did you now?" Inuyasha's smirk widened, and he actually laughed. Kanna's brows furrowed in frustration.

"Why is that funny?!"

"Because I didn't believe you were really _that _ruthless. What do you think Houjou will do to you if he finds out about this treachery?"

_We got her now, Kagome!_

_..._

_Kagome?_

"He will do nothing!" Kanna snapped. "I am his mistress and even if he knew of this, he would accept it and move on! Who cares of the life before now? What matters is that _I _kept _him _alive at all! He should be thankful for the opportunity to be helpful to me!" But Inuyasha wasn't listening anymore.

_Kagome, are you still there? Kagome!_

_..._

He was receiving no answer, and it worried him. Had her hunger finally taken its toll on her?

"I don't think Houjou would agree." Inuyasha mumbled, and Kanna huffed before stalking out of the room.

A loud scream made him jump up.

* * *

Black Ice: Ooh...who screamed?!

Blood Rain: I only wonder.

Black Ice: Can you believe we're in here watched _taped reruns of Inuyasha? _Goshes, we're such hypocrites! (blushes)

Blood Rain: (mutters) _You're _the hypocrite.

Black Ice: (ignores Rain) We've been talking about how much we hated seeing so much Inuyasha on TV, yet we're in here watching tapefuls of Inuyasha. Obviously, we're bored of real time TV.

Blood Rain: Not only that, but Inuyasha wasn't the only anime we recorded. There's a little Trigun, Full Metal...a bunch of other stuff. So we're just exploring.

Black Ice: But a bunch of the tape is all bunchy and screwed up. Probably 'cause tapes are almost obsolete now.

Blood Rain: But hey, nothing wrong with a blast from the past, right? Now if only we could start catching Hell Girl...


	28. Forgiven

Black Ice: Damn, dude, when's the last time _this _was worked on?

Blood Rain: Uh...I think something to the tune of...last year.

Black Ice: (winces) Wonderful.

Blood Rain: On le bright side, we got accepted to USC. For safety reasons, we shan't reveal exact details, but there's a lot of sun...that could mean anything, stalkers! (blows raspberry)

Black Ice: Both of us. (leans in to whisper) If you ask _me_, Rain's acceptance wasn't entirely coincidental. She just can't bear to stay away from me for long periods of time.

Blood Rain: (dryly) Yes. Then who else would I mercilessly abuse?

Black Ice: (beams) So I'm irreplaceable!

Blood Rain: If it makes you feel better, champ. Anyway, enjoy this...extremely late update. No apologies this time. We been swamped, get it?

* * *

Quote of the Day! (guaranteed funniness): "It's said that your body is a temple. So I guess masturbating would be like drawing on the walls: it's fun at first, but it leaves a hell of a mess for you to clean up, especially if you get caught..."

--The Ever Perverted Blood Rain ;D

* * *

Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha put his hand on the doorknob and turned it, electric shocks tearing him apart, until the door was finally open. He staggered out, trying to recompose himself, and looked around. Several doors were lined along a long hallway, and they all looked exactly alike. His was the only dark red.

"Fuck. This won't be entirely easy." He mumbled, and began to put his ear to each door, listening for anything that might aid him in his search for Kagome. At the fifth door to the left, he faintly heard frantic voices, and threw the door open, bounding up the stairs in front of him. Inuyasha came to a room stocked with a bunch of security screens and monitoring machinery, but that wasn't what caught his attention. The trail of blood on the floor did _that_.

He got to his knees and sniffed, knowing he recognized the scent from _somewhere_. Thankfully, it wasn't Kagome's, but if not hers, then whose was it? He followed the trail through another door and down a flight of stairs, finally arriving at what seemed like the entrance room to this building. Kanna sat on the floor, dumbstruck, while a bleeding Houjou lay unconscious in her lap.

"What the hell's going on here?!" Inuyasha demanded. "Where's Kagome?!"

"She's..." Kanna swallowed nervously. "She just ran out of here, snarling like a beast! She attacked Houjou out of nowhere, and she almost got me, too, but then she doubled over in what seemed like pain and left me alone!" Inuyasha swore violently, dashing out through the front door, while Kanna screamed after him, "This is what happens when you fuck half-breeds, Inuyasha!!"

Inuyasha sniffed the air frenetically, trying to pick up his half-crazed mate's scent; the pungent stench of blood was too thick in the air for him to find her by scent, but he knew he had to at least try. So he dashed all over the place, searching with his eyes and calling to her through his mind. Faintly, he heard her say his name in his head, her voice weak and hoarse. Inuyasha followed the path blindly, much like a bat using sonar. When he found her, she was laying beneath the tree from before, sleeping like a sticky, blood-coated angel. He sighed wearily, thanking the gods she wasn't dead.

"Kagome." He whispered gratefully, kneeling beside her and licking the blood from her body while she slept. When he got to her slightly inflated stomach, the heat of Phaidron's steadily growing body was still there, but feeble. He must have been tired from all that nourishment, Inuyasha surmised, and after kissing her belly, left her to sleep. He sat motionlessly with her, thinking.

Houjou had lied. But he shouldn't've been surprised, though. He'd obviously never fed Kagome, and had told him so only to appease Kanna's wishes. Fool. Merely speeding along his own death...though ironically enough, it would have to wait until Phaidron's birth, when Kagome was safe, at least from being mauled by her own child. She couldn't—or at least, shouldn't—be fighting whilst pregnant without possibly harming the boy, so it was best that they find somewhere to shelter her until things blew over. Sure, she'd most likely protest, but it couldn't be helped, and she knew it. The problem was, where? Certainly not at Nanako's house—forgiving though she may have been when Inuyasha impregnated Kagome, he severely doubted she would stand for two dangerous criminals attempting to kill her daughter.

"Do you love her, brother?" Sesshoumaru's quiet voice from the other side of the tree did not surprise him. He had a knack of coming out of nowhere on the strangest occasions.

"We are incapable of love, remember?" Inuyasha smiled slightly, and Sesshoumaru gave an almost inaudible chuckle.

"I at one point thought as much. But I watch you and I see that your child was made with love, not the product of an accidental rut. I commend you for swaying my opinion, brother." He replied smoothly. "It's true that your bond was inadvertent, but there had to be something to forge it, otherwise it would have failed. That something was influenced by the bond, and expanded into what it is now."

"Deducive, aren't you?" Inuyasha smirked. "Well, you're right. I care a great deal about this girl, and I fully plan to make that bastard _and _his conniving bitch pay by the boatload."

"I would expect no less from my brother. I suspect their blood shall stain the streets?" Sesshoumaru sounded amused.

"As well as run the rivers red. But my nyoubou is my first priority. She needs to be somewhere Houjou and Kanna can't touch her, or try to hurt our son."

"Adapting the fatherly role already, Inuyasha? How mature."

"I've always been mature. It's just taken a mate and a child for you to realize it." Inuyasha said smugly.

"Very well, Inuyasha. I acknowledge that. Now let us leave. Kanna is an idiot, but she would surely take advantage of such close proximity." Inuyasha nodded in agreement, cradled Kagome in his arms, and they left the area. He had been prepared to run, but he was somewhat surprised when Sesshoumaru ambled along, as though he hadn't a care in the world.

"How come you're going so slow?" Inuyasha questioned, curious.

"Would you have me run? I see no reason to rush. You surprise me, brother—I thought you would have wanted to take as much time as possible to deliver _this _news to Nanako."

"Well...I mean, she's an understanding woman, right...?" Inuyasha mumbled. "And I was just _asking. You're _the one who's always...dashing all over the place like some kind of blue hedgehog." Sesshoumaru quirked his eyebrow at him, and he sighed. "Another of Gingitsune's aphorisms...I guess it just stuck with me." He stared at the woman in his arms, a dull pain emerging in his heart. "Fuck, I miss her." He admitted, no longer caring if Sesshoumaru was disappointed in him. "But it's not like I can help it, okay? I've tried, and tried, and yet, she still worms her way into my fucking mind. I can't help thinking about her. I can't help worrying about her. I can't help l—" Sesshoumaru watched him patiently as he, quite literally, bit his tongue before the words could escape.

"Continue." Sesshoumaru said.

"There's...no more to be said." Inuyasha mumbled, mortified at what he'd almost said. Sure, _he _was aware of it, but that didn't mean Sesshoumaru had to be, too. But naturally, in that cryptic way of his, he already was.

"Do you love her, Inuyasha?"

"No!" Inuyasha snapped. It was more than enough proof for Sesshoumaru, who merely continued walking. "...I can't love a doomed woman."

"And why ever not? Your brother did, even with the knowledge that she was doomed. And she died, or rather, was killed, and I moved on."

"What will it take for _me _to move on?" Inuyasha sighed, feeling anguished.

"Her death, it would seem."

"I don't want her to die." It panged his heart just to think of it: Gingitsune dead, the spawn of a devourer squalling from between her legs, the very cause of the death pallor coating her once lively face...

"Then you must see her once more. Does she know of her fate?"

"If she did, she'd either off herself, or—and this is more likely, 'cause she likes kids and hates death—stick it out till the very end." Inuyasha gave a small smile, thinking about his old friend's resilience.

"You owe it to her to tell her. It was your acquaintance that led her to this destiny."

"_What?! __**My **__acquaintance?! _You jackass, how dare you?!" Inuyasha spluttered, indignant.

"If you hadn't befriended her, neither Kanna nor Houjou would know anything about her, and thus would never have had to include her in their twisted plans."

"Why the fuck do you _never _blame the people whose fault things really are when stuff gets fucked up?! You're _always _blaming me!"

"And you're _always _whining when I do. Be a man—take some responsibility, whelp."

"I'll _show _you how fucking--" Inuyasha caught the amused glint in his brother's otherwise emotionless eyes, then smirked. "Oh, you crafty fucker. You're always riling me up, dude."

"Your rants entertain me."

"Heh...if I didn't have Kagome in my arms, I'd probably throttle you."

"And you would be dead before you procured the chance."

* * *

As was expected, Nanako took things relatively well. She frowned through most of the explanation, but these words made Inuyasha feel loads better: "Well...if there had to be anyone at my daughter's side whilst she was in grave peril, then I suppose I'm somewhat relieved it's you two...even though neither of you have ever proved particularly capable of much in the past. Except fornication, of course...but then, that's to be expected as well."

So now, while Sesshoumaru sipped tea in the safety and comfort of Nanako's apartment, here _he _was, at Gingitsune's house, unsure of how to proceed. He'd yet to knock on the door, and Gingitsune's mother's car was in the driveway, so _someone _was home. Taking a deep breath, he only hoped her family had forgotten that she didn't want him let in the house.

Inuyasha knocked tentatively upon the wooden door, feeling that ringing the doorbell would be too alarming. Her younger brother, Noriyuki, came to the door, looking sour.

"Uh...hey, kid. Gingitsune home?"

"Yeah, but she's real sick. That asshole Houjou hasn't even come back to see her, and it's _his _fucking kid she's pregnant with!" That didn't surprise Inuyasha, but the normally quiet Noriyuki's ire did. He must really care for Gingitsune, more than Inuyasha ever could. Steeling himself, he went in and stared up the stairs that led to her room. Based on what he knew about vampire/demon pregnancies, Gingitsune could be coughing blood...or was it pissing blood? Oh, yeah—he'd forgotten.

He didn't know much about vampire/demon pregnancies.

But he went up those stairs anyway. He knocked on the door, in case her mother or someone was in there with her, and he didn't want to be considered terribly forward...even though he couldn't help but feel a little smug that _he _wasn't the "asshole who'd knocked her up". If he had succeeded in getting Gingitsune in his bed, he'd certainly be a much better father than Houjou could ever dream of being...

But he had to stop that train of thought. It was blocking out Gingitsune's faint voice, whispering, "Come in..." Inuyasha did so, leaving the door cracked open behind him, and he sat on the floor, looking at her with the utmost pity. Her face was gaunt and haggard, her belly more swollen than he recalled, and her eyes closed. He would've thought her dead if he didn't detect her weak pulse and the blood moving slowly through her veins, emptying into her broken heart.

"Inuyasha? I hope it's you. I've gotten tired of waiting for Houjou..."

"Y...Yeah. It's me." Inuyasha murmured, staring down at the fibers in Gingitsune's red shag carpeting.

"I'm glad." Her small smile made him feel as though his arms were about to be amputated. "How's Kagome doing?" Inuyasha flinched to hear his nyoubou's name.

"Uh...out for blood. The kid's taken a serious toll on her. But I guess yours is doing that to you, too." He added quickly, not wanting to seem insensitive.

"You sound surprised that I asked."

"I, uh...thought you hated Kagome."

"So did I...but...I realized something. I don't have it in me to hate anyone. Kagome's never done anything to me...I was just jealous, when I had no right to be."

"Yeah...so was she. But she didn't have that right either, you know."

"She does now. She's your nyoubou."

"..." _I wish you were. _The words, unspoken, drifted into the air above them, and it was as though Gingitsune could see them.

"I don't think we were ever meant to be, Inuyasha." She sighed. "I hate to get all dramatic and soap opera on you, but it's true. I have only been pregnant for two weeks. _Two weeks_. Already, I feel a head-splitting hell awaiting me when it all cumulates. So I know what you've been trying to tell me. I'm not going to survive this birth."

"You could!" Inuyasha retorted, and again, Gingitsune smiled.

"I like your enthusiasm, but...we both know I won't. So I've got a few last wishes for you."

"Shut up! Stop fucking _saying _that!"

"Something of a last will and testament, if you will." Gingitsune went on, either oblivious to his denial or ignoring it. "Number one: I do _not _want to be buried. That's first off. I don't want a bunch of people I've always hated crowded around me acting like they like me. I've been through that way too long. I'd appreciate a nice cremation, in a preferably white urn. That way I'll be brightening up the room just like when I was alive." By this time, Inuyasha was ferally growling his denials.

"Numero two. This really should have been number one, but I feel that a little tradition couldn't hurt. Kill Houjou. That would really make my afterlife."

"Sure. But you'll forgive me if it takes a small while."

"I really don't want this to have to happen _again_. It's quite tiresome, don't you think?"

"He's already done something like this before." Inuyasha grumbled curtly. "To my brother."

"Oh, my. That baby must have been a real bitch to have." Inuyasha's laugh was somewhat bitter, but he was a little glad Gingitsune seemed back to normal, even if only slightly.

"I'm talking about this girl he used to like. But he didn't go so far as to get her pregnant. He just killed her."

"Lucky."

"Stop saying that."

"Not until you accept it, which I suspect you already have, but you're just attempting to look all big and bad just for my benefit. Now—number three. Tell Kagome I never hated her. I don't want there to be people satisfied that I died."

"She's not that kind of person."

"I know." Gingitsune smiled infallibly. "Four...forgive me."

"Of course I do." Inuyasha said, never hesitating.

"I really shouldn't've even brought it up, huh?" She rolled her eyes, then coughed a little. Inuyasha was immediately at her side with a napkin from the dresser. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Jeez, don't mollycoddle me! You know I hate that."

"Sorry. Is your testament thing done?"

"Nopes. I think there's about one or two left. Number five is as follows: take especially good care of Kagome and your child. You have to forget about me—not completely, but enough not to let it interfere with your relationship with her. I would absolutely hate having my spirit anchored onto earth just because your stupid ass won't forget about me."

"...I'll...try."

"Good. Six: make sure _my _child is raised right. I don't care if you and Kagome have to raise her yourselves, just give her a good upbringing."

"You already know its' gender?"

"Not an idiot, Inuyasha. Not an idiot." Gingitsune grinned, and Inuyasha was thrilled to see some of that old light in her eyes. "Now, here's something you will never again hear for as long as _you _live: a bit of humility. I may not be an idiot now, but I was an idiot. I mean, I was _being _an idiot. I should've listened to your doubts about Houjou, biased though they were. You were doing the right thing for the wrong reasons."

"That's the worst kind of doing." Inuyasha nodded solemnly.

"Exactamundo. So..." Gingitsune stretched her limbs again, and Inuyasha vaguely registered the lack of the old lust that usually arose whenever she was in such a compromising position. "Now, I know things can't go _completely _back to normal, but I want things to be as congenial as possible. I want you and me and Kagome to all be friends. I'm a dying woman now, Inuyasha—I have no wish to whisk you away from your woman anymore."

"You've always wanted to say that." Inuyasha chuckled.

"What, "I'm a dying woman", or "whisk you away"?"

"Take your pick."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm so happy you came by, Inuyasha. I've been depressed for quite some time now, and you were just what I needed to make me feel better."

"You know what would make you feel even better? Some sunlight."

"How ironic coming from _you_, Dracula." Gingitsune laughed lightly. It wasn't the laugh Inuyasha knew so well—this one sounded more like a broken accordion—but it would do.

For now.

* * *

Black Ice: Yeah, I wanted things to progress on at least a moderately happy note. I didn't like all the dismal feelings I was picking up.

Blood Rain: Hey, whore, _I _wrote those feelings.

Black Ice: Yeah, yeah.

Blood Rain: So you got your happy ending, so what are you gonna do with it?

Black Ice: It's not an _ending_. God! Do you know _nothing _of stories?!

Blood Rain: Apparently I don't.

Black Ice: (ignoring her) Oh, things will be so happy! Oh, everyone will be friends!

Blood Rain: Until, of course, Gingitsune dies.

Black Ice: (good mood comes crashing down) Aw, c'mon, Rain, can't we change that?

Blood Rain: No! Now damn it, you got your stupid fucking happiness! Get the hell off my back!

Black Ice: Jeez! What are you, menstruating?! You're so bitchy today!

Blood Rain: And you're so fuckin' peppy!

Black Ice: _I _think we've been going through fanfic withdrawal.

Blood Rain: ...Yeah, me too. This was a pretty long rant.

Black Ice: Now that we're getting closer to ending this, maybe we should work on Strangetown...

Blood Rain: Why bother?

Black Ice: ...Well, I'll have to get back to you on that one. --;


	29. Chosen

Black Ice: Back on the horse! Nyee-haw!

Blood Rain: (rolls eyes) Note, gratuitous cussin'. And I mean, downright _dirty _language up in this one, folks.

Also, there's a lemon.

Quote of the Day!

"If at first you don't succeed, it probably wasn't meant to be."

--Anonymous (and if nobody else will claim it, I will!)

The shock on Nanako's face was almost comedic when she opened the door to her daughter's teisei...and an unknown pregnant woman.

"Uh..." She murmured. Sesshoumaru sat in the kitchen, ears and nose wide open. "Inuyasha? Who's, um...your friend?"

"Just that. A friend." Inuyasha explained, miraculously keeping his voice from wavering. "Her name's Gingitsune."

"Gin...I've heard of you. You're Shippo's cousin, aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am. White fox and grade-A moron." Gingitsune beamed, holding out her hand for Nanako to shake. Bewildered, Nanako accepted it, scowling internally at Sesshoumaru's subtle snickering.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Sure." As Inuyasha walked her in, he asked, "Is Kagome still sleeping?"

"No, she's right here, awaiting some kind of explanation." You didn't have to be human to know that two pregnant women in the same room equaled trouble. Inuyasha cleared his throat, knowing he'd have to work his hardest not to stammer.

"Kagome...sweetheart..." He smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. She glared coldly at it, and it shriveled away from her. "Uh, Gingitsune's dying."

"I'm well aware of this. Are _you _aware that there is very little standing between the present tense and future tense?" Even Nanako flinched.

"Obviously, my intentions are pure, or I wouldn't be bringing my _friend _into your mother's house."

"I don't know what your intentions are, but you need to get them straight."

"...Er...like I was saying...Gingitsune's dying. And she wants to make things right. With you. I've already made my peace with her and, well...what's going on. I think it would be easier for both of you to get through this if you were friends, don't you?"

"Hardly."

"..." Now Inuyasha was at a loss for words. Nanako stepped in, putting an arm around Kagome's shoulders.

"Come on, darling, just sleep on it."

"Have you been roped into this deception as well, Mama?!"

"No. I just think a certain someone's being influenced by that football playing fetus in her womb." Nanako admonished.

"Meaning...?"

"Your baby doesn't recognize Gingitsune from anything more than _your _memories. Your memories of her are clouded with malice. You might've been able to put them aside if it wasn't for Phaidron. You have to assure him that Gingitsune means no harm."

"But I can't do that, Ma."

"Why not?" This time, it was Inuyasha who spoke. Kagome turned her silvery gaze onto him.

"Because I don't know that myself." Before anyone could say anything more, she turned and retreated into her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Well! How's _this _for entertainment?" Gingitsune said brightly. "I should go in there and talk to her."

"Uh, I don't think that's very wise, dear." Nanako stopped her. "Kagome's not exactly...rational right now. And she just finished feeding not too long ago. With the haze she can go into, it wouldn't mean much for her to attack you."

"Oh. Well, something has to be done. I feel terribly uncomfortable, and I knew my presence would be unwanted, but this is kinda severe, isn't it?" Gingitsune looked at Inuyasha, who shrugged.

"I guess if anybody should take the brunt of her moodiness, it should be me. It is my fault, anyways." Squaring his shoulders as if he were about to march off to war—as opposed to going into a pregnant girl's room—Inuyasha went after Kagome.

"This might be problematic. Let's go into the kitchen and have tea, Gingitsune. If that door flies off the hinges, I don't want it inducing miscarriage." The fox vixen anime-sweatdropped, but followed Nanako anyway.

In Kagome's room, the girl was livid. Inuyasha had his arms crossed, meeting her level stare.

"How _dare _you," she hissed, slowly shaking her head. "You _lied _to me!"

"And how is that, Kagome?"

"You said you would get over her!"

"I _am _over her. This time for sure."

"You _always fucking say that_!" Kagome snarled, her fangs and claws looking particularly dangerous now. "You're always so _sure _of everything, and you don't even know what the _fuck _goes on!"

"Kagome, if I wasn't over her, I would've fucked her before I even came here. Hell, I might not have come back, if it wasn't for--"

"For what? For the fact that you're interminably bound to me? The fact that I'm pregnant with your child?"

"Yes, _and_--"

"Save it, Inuyasha! I already see what it is. I was nothing to you but a fuck."

"How could you even fucking _say _that?!" Inuyasha fumed, outraged. "Why in the hell does everybody hold the title of Lothario over _my _head?! If you had been "just a fuck", do you think I would've risked my life to save your stupid ass from Kanna and Houjou?! Do you think I would've kept you around if you were "just a fuck"?!"

"The machinations of your mind confound even me." She said simply, and Inuyasha grabbed her by the forearms, shoving his face in hers.

"You're so damn stupid sometimes, Kagome, it makes me wonder how you remember to breathe."

"Okay. I'm stupid? Fine. Riddle me this, smart-ass. Do you love Gingitsune?" Kagome demanded, and neither missed how his grip loosened slightly. He was two seconds from coming completely undone and just losing his mind, but he had to keep things together. Reading his own heart had never come naturally to Inuyasha, but he was going to have to kick his addiction to phonics and read by himself.

"Do you want the truth?" He murmured.

"I _knew _it! You fucking bastard, how could you?!" Kagome cried out, her cracking voice betraying those beautiful, still dry eyes.

"I asked you if you wanted the truth."

"_No_, I don't want the goddamn truth..." Her lips, full and raw from what seemed to be chewing, trembled and she dropped to her knees. She would have crumpled to the floor completely if Inuyasha hadn't caught her. "What woman does?" She said sullenly.

"Then you foolish wenches should stop asking. But if you were to ask the truth, I would tell you this: I lusted for Gingitsune. I was deeply infatuated with her. I thought I loved her. I was right. But I don't love her the way I thought I did." Confusion seeped into Kagome's moistening features; that wall guarding her emotions had sprung a leak, and she was crying, but she wasn't very aware of it.

"What the hell are you rambling on about now, Inuyasha?"

"I'm saying...I thought I wanted her to be with me. And I even told her as much, some time in the past. I won't deny that. But now...I feel as though my entire life has been thrown into perspective, you know? It's like...I keep seeing the world through two different lenses now. And it confuses me."

"So what you're saying is, you need your space." Kagome said coldly, her eyes bloodshot from her crying. It had all but stopped now, yet she still trembled. The truth was, she had grown far too attached to Inuyasha, a bond that resembled something she wasn't used to, and she feared to lose him to a woman more qualified to be with him than she. But she would never admit to that.

"That's not what I said. What I'm saying is...I need _you _to clear my mind. Gingitsune will only befuddle me even more, and I don't need that. I just need her to be my friend, and you to be my woman. Now, here's where the real question lays: can you?" They stared at each other rather intensely then, the former flame in Kagome's eyes slowly smouldering into nothing by the raw sincerity in Inuyasha's.

"No, the _real _question is, can _you _be my lover without flocking to Gingitsune whenever we have an argument?"

"Well, now, I'm not making any promises..." Inuyasha grinned widely, and Kagome punched him in the arm.

"Try it and I'll chop your dick right off." She muttered, her dark humor signaling the end of their argument, and Inuyasha kissed her on the lips, a light one that made Kagome stare at him in disbelief.

"What was _that_?!"

"It's your punishment." He waggled his index finger with an impish grin. "For being a bitch to me. Naughty, naughty."

"I'll show you naughty, you big tease." Kagome grabbed him by his shirt collar and kissed him fiercely, almost overwhelmed with her relief. Inuyasha didn't hesitate to wrap his strong arms around her waist and press their bodies tighter together, allowing her to feel the passion she was inciting in him.

"You know..." He whispered huskily, moving his clawed hands up her shirt and scissoring her shirt off of her. "We haven't been together in quite a while." Inuyasha fully enjoyed the sight of her breasts, enlarged and swollen by her pregnancy. Kagome gasped raggedly when he ran his tongue across her nipples, savoring the slight taste of lactation. "Aren't we about due for a good fuck?"

"Maybe..." Kagome mumbled, feeling dizzy as she watched Inuyasha remove his pants. His erection, the likes of which Kagome couldn't remember seeing before, sprung out and further aroused Kagome. He gently moved her to the floor, proceeding to lick and kiss her all over, being extra careful of her slightly protruding belly.

"Damn, I've missed you, Kagome..." He sighed, removing her pants and burying his face right in her nest. She cried out, opening her legs wide for him to get better access. Inuyasha lapped greedily at her pleasure center like a man deprived, while Kagome fisted her clawed hands within his long silver mane. It felt all too good, his cool tongue reaching depths within her that only his cock had explored.

She felt the coils inside her stomach go tighter and tighter with each lick Inuyasha delivered, and ached for them to loosen, her moans increasing in volume. She was about to come, she knew it...

And then he stopped.

Kagome cried.

Inuyasha chuckled up at her, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Don't worry, baby...you'll come, but you'll do it the right way." He positioned his body over hers, his dick teasing her opening, and the proud Kagome, after being denied even this simple pleasure, actually broke down and _begged_.

"Please, Inuyasha, I need you to fuck me!" She whispered hoarsely, the desperate want in her eyes and facial expression turning Inuyasha on immensely.

He denied her no longer.

His thick rod thrust into Kagome's heated core, possibly the hottest place on her entire body, and Inuyasha realized just how much he had missed this. The warm, tight feeling of being inside his nyoubou, being one with her...how could he ever have thought he would get that from Gingitsune?

Kagome panted breathily, her limbs thrashing so hard, Inuyasha had to pin them to the floor. Her back arched unnaturally, a position that Inuyasha absently noted had to be hard on Phaidron, and he sunk his fangs into her neck as he pumped her. He growled against her flesh, calming her just enough that she tried to keep her back steady. That didn't stop her blissful moans, which began to get louder and louder as she reclaimed that building feeling that signaled her orgasm.

Inuyasha's claws tightened on her arms and he almost tore a chunk of her flesh out of her neck when that powerful sensation rippled through his low-temperature body. The pain enthralled Kagome and before either of them knew what was happening, they were coming together.

Instead of falling on top of her and endangering their child, Inuyasha rolled off to the side, trying to recapture his breath. Sweat glistened upon his forehead and he wiped it away, closing his amber eyes for a few moments.

"Would you believe me if I told you I was in love with you, girl?" He murmured. He didn't get an answer. Finding this peculiar, Inuyasha reopened his eyes and looked over at her. He chuckled suddenly; the woman had fallen asleep. He got up and yanked on his clothes, then picked her up and gently laid her on her bed.

Inuyasha left the room, coming to a room full of knowing gazes. With a smirk, he leaned against the wall, closing Kagome's room door.

"We've made up."

* * *

Black Ice and Blood Rain: (laugh hysterically)

Black Ice: We...bet you're wondering why we're laughing, right?!

Blood Rain: (laughs) Okay, so we're watching Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Right, and Meredith Vieira (who is, if you didn't know, the new female host who replaced Regis) is _crazy _in this episode. She's got this military dude on, and she's totally flirting with him! On live-ass tv! She even said, and I _quote_, "I'm a horny old woman!" THAT IS WHAT SHE SAID!

Black Ice: Nastily enough, the next question was "A wet willie is a children's prank in which someone puts their finger in someone's what?" She actually said to the military guy, "Max, you can put your finger anywhere you want to!" SHE ACTUALLY SAID THAT! I THOUGHT THIS WAS A FAMILY SHOW!

Black Ice and Blood Rain: (laugh even harder)


	30. Depression

Author's Note: I reread this story from the beginning and saw many, many plot holes, as well as just plain bad writing. But I wrote this chapter anyway. I plan to do a full-scale revision sometime in the [not-so-]near future. Most, if not all, won't like the twist it takes, but that's the way of the world. As a warning, it's moderately dark.

* * *

"You have been lying to me." Takefumi prostrated himself before his boss, unable to even look her in the eye. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and he knew he was going to die very soon. "I know you never killed Nanako. I know you had a wretched half-breed child with her. And I know where they are." Kanna idly drummed her fingers on her cushy armchair, glancing over at the crackling fireplace. She could see Kagome's disgusting face within the fire, and it made her clench her fist. "I should kill you right now. And then kill them." Takefumi's entire body tensed up; Kanna's subsequent smile was full of her special brand of depravity.

"But..." She hummed, getting up to pace the room. "I've got different plans in mind for you." Kanna stopped right alongside him. He didn't dare to look up.

Her foot made forceful contact with his torso. Takefumi went flying into the nearest wall, framed photographs falling onto his head and shattering. His breathing was labored, but he made no sounds of pain, although his ribcage was surely broken. Kanna walked over to him, grabbed his neck, and pressed her thumb menacingly against his throat.

"Now you listen to me, Takefumi." She said calmly. "And listen good." Takefumi didn't move, nor did he let his eyes meet her face. Kanna scowled, increasing the pressure on his throat. "_Look at me_." He immediately did so. "Do you understand that I have hordes—literally, _hordes—_of men at my disposal? Men that will kill you at the snap of my fingers?" He nodded slightly. "How dare you defy me? I could make your life a living hell and you don't even know it." She smiled at him again, showing all of her knifelike teeth.

"The question, my dear, is how will I punish you? At least twice now, I've held your precious daughter's life in my hands. There is only one thing stopping me from killing her and eating her whole." Not even Takefumi's years of yakuza training could prevent him from trembling in Kanna's grasp. "And what's stopping me, Takefumi?"

"...The boy." He murmured shakily. Kanna nodded, pouting.

"That's right. My own love, who's turned against me in favor of the daughter you never should've had—the daughter I am _this _close to having eliminated." She made the tiniest of spaces between her index and thumb nails, squinting her eyes at it to emphasize her point. "That's very close, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Yes." Kanna repeated. "It is. Very, very, very close. But still not close enough. I'm not going to kill Kagome, though. Not directly, no. I would never dirty my hands with her half-breed blood. So this is what you're going to do. You are going to bring Inuyasha to me. _Without _his annoying attachments. Do you understand?" Takefumi, very numbly and slowly, nodded. "If you bring me Inuyasha and keep your halfling at bay, I will spare her life. We can work together on this. I only want what is rightfully mine. So swear to me, on your life, that you will do as I wish."

"...I swear...on my life...that I will give you what is rightfully yours." He choked out, and Kanna released him. He crumpled up on the floor, gasping for air.

"That is what I always love to hear." Her expression flattened. "Now get the fuck out." Takefumi could barely stand; he had to resort to crawling out, much to her loud amusement. "Crawl like the human vermin you are. And remember..." He paused to listen miserably to the rest of what she had to say. "This time, I'll be watching to make sure you do it right."

* * *

"I don't think this is a very good idea..." Gingitsune stammered, Kagome and Inuyasha on either side of her dragging her by her arms.

"Nonsense. This is actually one of the better ideas we had!" Kagome beamed, patting her reassuringly on the back.

"Yeah. At first we were just going to throw you out there all by yourself for you to hunt on your own. Go by instincts." Inuyasha said casually, and Gingitsune blanched.

"But-but-but I'm not a natural hunter. I think I'm going to mess this up. Big time. Can't you guys just bring me blood like you've been doing?" She pled.

"Well, where's the fun in that?" Kagome laughed.

"This is the kyuuketsuki lifestyle, Gin." Inuyasha explained. He did feel sorry for the girl; this wasn't at all her cup of tea. Random acts of violence were okay, but bloodshed struck somewhat of a chord with her. She was surprisingly very squeamish for a demon. "This is how we have to live. We don't necessarily like doing it ourselves, but...we kinda have to."

"Ehhh..." Gingitsune faltered, sighing in resignation. She hated everything about her circumstances. The accursed child inside her was due in a few months, which was basically its signature on her impending death warrant. It was really a miracle she was still alive; what with insane devourers and yakuza, not to mention her baby making her life hell whenever it could. It kicked and caused her immense pain more often than not. She was very depressed because of this, and the only thing that kept her from killing herself was Inuyasha stopping her every time. Because she'd certainly tried on more than one occasion, and it broke his heart. Which, naturally, depressed her even more.

Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged grim glances; they noticed her sudden wave of sadness permeating the atmosphere.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said, "take her back home. I'll find some food for us and bring it back."

"Right." His mate nodded, and they kissed. Gingitsune watched them, her heart aching—and with a swift baby kick, her abdomen too. She clutched her plump stomach, whimpering. Kagome put an arm around her, leading her back the way they came. Inuyasha watched them go, before heading off in search of a good kill.

"I was thinking," the fox demon sighed, "about what to name him." Kagome stayed silent, but listened. "And I think Takeshi is good."

"Means fierce and violent." Kagome bit her thumbnail anxiously.

"Fits pretty well." Gingitsune mumbled. "Not like it matters anyway. I'll be dead after he's born."

"Goddamn Houjou, that bastard." Kagome growled. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you."

"I guess I don't really care." Gin shrugged. "Not about your apology. I mean about my fate. If I have my way, I'll be dead before it's born. So this scourge can't threaten anyone else. I want to just kill myself and get it over with it. But..."

"Inuyasha won't let you."

"Don't know why. He should be scrambling to kill me, if only to protect you." Kagome looked down at the pavement, watching their feet. Hers moved regularly; Gingitsune's dragged along.

"He loves you, you know." Kagome said reluctantly, the words tasting bitter.

"He loves you more." Gin countered listlessly. "And so what do I have to live for? I'm pregnant with a baby I don't want, by a man I thought I liked, because I shunned the man I did like out of jealousy over you." Kagome was startled by her bluntness. "I mean, I don't really care anymore. It's not like it's a huge secret how I feel about your boyfriend or teisei or whatever you call him." She chuckled absently, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Did you know he wanted to be mine before he made you his?"

"...Are you trying to piss me off?" Kagome stared at her, her lifeless eyes looking shamelessly back.

"Nope. I'm just telling you the truth. He told me that many times. He still loves me a lot. I already know that. But you and he have this bond thing. And I can't break that. I wouldn't if I could." Tears made her eyes shine and she automatically wiped them away. "I just...it's just such a big 'Fuck you' from the universe. I try to like you. I know you don't hate me. You're just jealous of me. But I'm so jealous of you that if I didn't want to die right now, I would try to kill you." Gingitsune choked up a little. "Oh, God, that's not me. I can't even kill a human. I swear to god this kid is controlling my head."

"...I..." Kagome was more or less speechless. All that raw honesty was a lot to process. Was she supposed to be honest in return? Or chalk it up to her pregnancy and just stay in awkward silence?

She didn't have time to decide. As they entered her apartment, her mother said from the kitchen, "Kagome? Is that you?"

"Uh...yeah, Mom." Kagome cleared her throat and helped Gingitsune to the couch. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, okay?" Gin didn't even look at her. Kagome sighed and went to Nanako. "Hey, what's up?"

"Your father called. I didn't get to the phone quickly enough to answer, but he left a message. Said he needed to talk to Inuyasha." Nanako paused, frowning thoughtfully. "It sounded really urgent."

"Inuyasha? What would he want with Inuyasha?" Kagome blinked. She hadn't heard from her father since she and Inuyasha came back to Sapporo for a while to lay low.

"I don't know." Nanako shrugged. "Where is he anyway?"

"He's out hunting for food for us..." She glanced at Gingitsune in the living room, laying on the couch silently. Shippo had come into the room to watch over her. Nanako followed her glance and said in a low voice, "She's taking things very hard, isn't she?"

"Kinda hard to blame her..." Kagome actually found she sympathized. She thought she had it bad, but at least she still had the will to live. "I honestly can't gauge how long she'll be alive. We're just lucky Shippo's around and has been monitoring her while Inuyasha's not here."

"Yeah. He'd be devastated if his cousin took her own life." Kagome nodded in agreement, absently rubbing her large belly. Inside, Phaidron lay dormant, emanating a calming warmth. It was almost as though he were purposefully sending peaceful waves to her. It made her smile. If only Gingitsune's child would cooperate with her too instead of being such a nuisance...

"Hey, Mom?" She said suddenly, an idea having struck her.

"Hm?"

"Can a kyuuketsuki baby be...aborted? Like a human baby? But without doing the mother any harm?" Nanako thought very hard about this for a while.

"You know...I'm not sure. It seems possible enough, but I think it would cause the mother a lot of pain because of the child likely fighting against it." She responded slowly, the gears still whirring in her head. "But I've never heard of the process being done for our kind. Sesshoumaru might know. He's older than dirt." Nanako laughed. "If anyone would, he would."

"Where is he?" Kagome asked, standing up. Her mother raised a questioning eyebrow at her sudden conviction.

"Ohhhh, no, you don't. You are not going out to look for him, not when your life is so much in danger right now. I forbid it." She said firmly. Kagome frowned at her.

"Then come with me. You're strong. A little out of action, but you can certainly hold your own."

"This is really a territory for Inuyasha to cross, Kagome." Nanako warned.

"But he's your ex-lover! How much closer can you get to a guy?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Don't answer that. I don't think I want to know." Kagome shook her head, as if she were shaking the bad thoughts out. "Just come with me. Shippo can take care of Gin, or run away if need be. And I know you know where he is."

"...When Inuyasha gets back here, he's going to flip a table. And if he ruins my table, I'm going to ruin his ass." Nanako groaned. Kagome merely grinned.

"Permission granted."

* * *

Author's Note: I'd like comments/suggestions/criticism about this new installment, as many as you can offer. It took a shorter time than I thought it would to write it up, and after two years, I can't honestly believe I still have somewhat of a storyline progressing. It's...astonishing, really. I still need all the help I can get with this, seeing as it's my first attempt at re-entering the dark world of fanfiction. This story's literally crawling. Let's help it walk!


	31. Encounter

Inuyasha skulked around the backstreets of Muroran as if he were the shadow of a thief, fast and barely perceptible to the distracted eyes of the human traffic. As he sometimes did when hunting these days, he felt weird not having to seduce a woman to get his fill. Now all he had to do was rap some poor, fat fool on the back of the head and drain him from the arm—that simple. Certainly a different way.

In a crowded place like this, he didn't even have to lure them away from the stream of oncoming people. All he had to do was discreetly knock them out—a quick elbow to the back of the head was most effective, made it look like an accident—and pretend to be helping them up. All the while he cloaked his true actions behind his crouching figure, siphoning their hot blood into flasks specifically for this purpose. Inuyasha only had a few more to fill up for Kagome and Gin. Four lined his deep pockets, but while he was eager to feed his women, he was just as anxious to get back to them. To protect them.

Along the brick wall of an alleyway, he stiffened, thinking of how he mentally grouped the women. "His" women. Both of them belonged to him. It sounded wrong, but felt very, very right. They both had a secure place in his heart. But he couldn't have both. He couldn't _love _both. His deepest secret, something he tried never to think about—lest Kagome catch telekinetic wind of it—was that sometimes, he pictured Gingitsune and him together in various romantic scenarios, some of which he'd shared with Kagome but others exclusive to his fantasies of Gin. In these daydreams, sometimes, they kissed passionately. Sometimes they walked with a child—their child, a beautiful half-fox with Gin's eyes. Sometimes they made love for what seemed like an endless period of time that could easily have been forever.

In his mental haze, Inuyasha's eyes and fists were clenched shut, his claws digging hard into his palms. Rivulets of dark blood speckled the dusty ground. He growled under his breath, maddened by his sordid truths.

"Goddamn." He wrung his hands together nervously, smearing the blood around both hands. "Stay focused. Staaaaay focused." With a determined grunt, he went on, stalking through the busy street, but thoughts of his lover and his friend still clouded his mind. _You have a son_, he thought. _Phaidron. Think about him. Think about your son, not something you could have had with Gin. _A niggling afterthought, something he called "the bad voice", chimed in, _**Not could have had, but can still have. **_

His heartbeat quickened to that of a normal human's, an impressive feat for a vampire's heart. _No. I can never have her. I don't want her. She's just my friend._ That ever-coy bad voice found his denial amusing. _**Who says you can't have two teisei? Two lovers to carry on your bloodline? To treat you like royalty? **_To be fair, this was not unallowed. He had even heard urban legends of people having two. But some strange human moralism, he knew, prevented him from seriously entertaining the idea of what was essentially polygamy. To Inuyasha, it just seemed wrong. _**Just think about it... **_The bad voice coaxed, and he shook his head as if to throw the thoughts out of his head.

* * *

Thanks to the distractions of his intense thinking, Inuyasha wasn't done hunting until early evening, around half past five. It still felt as hot as it was when he first started, and he wiped little beads of sweat from his forehead. His payoff sat in his pockets, weighing him down a bit. He couldn't wait to get back home to his love, deciding not to dwell on specific identities. The previously crowded alley was now practically bare, and Inuyasha knew the criminals and dealers were coming out around this time. While they posed no threat, he didn't want any unnecessary encounters.

Flasks clanked together as he walked down the sidewalk. Inuyasha felt the strangest prickling on the back of his neck—a feeling of foreboding. A quick peripheral sweep turned up no suspicious characters. Though he was on the main street, he was no fool; anything could happen with no one to stop it. And happen it did; no sooner than Inuyasha turned a corner did he hear something metallic whizzing past his ear.

A throwing knife plunged into the streetlight pole that was supposed to have been his head. Its razor sharp shaft poked menacingly through the other side of the pole. Inuyasha looked around the corner with narrowed eyes, but the culprit was nowhere to be found. He didn't plan on sticking around regardless. He continued quickly on his path, on edge and senses heightened protectively.

The tiny bullet of an M39 rifle stopped him cold, piercing his hand in mid-stride. Inuyasha didn't even stop to inspect the wound; he took off in a dead run, passing the apartment complex. If these bastards wanted a fight, they were going to get one—on his terms. Sure enough, as he ran, at least a dozen men followed after him in an unmarked SUV. They were as interested in him as he in they, and they didn't seem all too willing to let him get away. Inuyasha made his way well into an old graveyard, then finally turned to his aggressors, who'd leapt out of the car.

"Who the fuck are you and what do you want with me?" He growled, tossing the flasks out of his pockets. Something told him he didn't want to be slowed down for this. The men stood ready, all decked out in black suits with their respective weapons in hand. One man had an automated crossbow; the others had guns. Probably humans, Inuyasha surmised, or demons who didn't care to get their hands dirty. He didn't care for their classification. They had a problem with him? He'd solve it as best he could.

"Not to kill you. Just to capture you." One of the men, different from the others in that he donned shades and a white fedora, stepped forward, indicating himself as their superior.

"With me, the two will be one and the same." Inuyasha spat on the hallowed ground, wiping his mouth without taking one golden, hawklike eye off of them. "You want me, you'll have to kill me. And I mean dead."

The men eyed each other warily, then looked back at him. Fedora Man cleared his throat, taking a step closer. Inuyasha instinctively stepped back. "We don't want it to come to that. We're hoping to possess you with..." He glanced at Inuyasha's slightly bleeding hand. "...minimal injury."

"Possess me? Ha. I'd like to see that happen. I don't want to have to kill you humans. But since you've already holed up my hand, I think I owe you the favor, don't you?" Without waiting for a response, he dashed forward like lightning, smacking guns out of some lackeys' hands. The ones still armed—including the crossbow guy—fired immediately, round after round battering the old silence.

Inuyasha grabbed an unarmed man, using him as a human shield and replacing him with another empty-handed person when his use expended. Quickly getting wise, the remaining three men without weapons leapt on Inuyasha's back while he tried to fend off the bullets, arrows, and knives. His feet met faces, his fists broke noses, and the men hanging off of him like oversized clothing were used protected him from most of the first onslaught. Clips were reloaded before he had a chance to toss the still-grasping corpses off of him.

This fresh wave of attack was at a closer range now, as Inuyasha had inadvertently staggered closer to them in his attempts to swat away the dead ones. Bullets grazed and marred his face; an arrow struck his calf; the two men with daggers managed to make a superficial cut on his sides before his fangs lunged into one of their necks. While he furiously elbowed the other, the man with the crossbow made his way close to Inuyasha's face and smacked him with the weapon itself. Inuyasha hit the ground, groaning loudly, but he'd yet to give up. Five more were alive and still shooting.

A spinning sweep kick put two of them to the ground, their guns clattering at Inuyasha's feet. He quickly picked up the guns and pistol whipped their former owners. The last two shooters gave loud, menacing shouts, gunning for him now. Inuyasha uprooted a tombstone and bashed them both in the face. Unfortunately for him, behind the obscurity of the large tombstone, the man with the crossbow had gotten into the car and driven away. Breathing heavily, the wounded vampire looked around through one good eye and one swollen eye at the dead suits littering the graveyard. It was nearly pitch black now. He needed to go back home now. Inuyasha stumbled to his dropped flasks and clumsily re-deposited them in his pockets, before heading back the way he ran.

* * *

Gingitsune was outside the apartment, getting some fresh air. She needed it; being cooped up in that house was tiring and stifling, and didn't think she could take it anymore. Shippo had fallen asleep, and as she didn't think anyone would be coming in for the kill any time soon, she just decided to get out. Her depression cast a noticeable cloud over her now; heavy bags made her emerald eyes much less pronounced, she had broken out into red splotches that blemished her fair complexion, and her silvery hair was dull and abounded with split ends. To top it all off, she was still hungry, and nobody had come back yet. She was alone.

_But I guess that's just something I should get used to anyway. _Gin thought numbly, deadened eyes staring at nothing on the floor. She hugged her legs, not cold. By now, she could ignore both her hunger pangs and the furious baby's kicking that resulted from it. She was only two months in and felt as big as a house already. Shippo told her it'd only be another few before...Gin didn't like to think about it much.

Hers would be born about a month before Kagome's, by which time it would probably have murdered the girl. Despite her hatred for the devourer in her stomach, she wasn't immune to motherly instinct, and was already considering naming the child Raiden, derived from the god of thunder. With all the pain it put her through, it seemed a fitting name for a little boy. If it were a girl...she'd name it Kagami. "Mirror", in hopes that she would reflect more good than she seemed to possess.

A distant groan startled her out of her trance. Her head snapped up and she looked around, ready to run away if it was danger. Her eyes went wide when she saw Inuyasha faltering up the stairs, his clothes stained with blood and his face swollen.

"Oh, God...Inuyasha!"


End file.
